The Greek Council for Refugees (GCR) accused the Greek government of ignoring the needs of dozens of asylum seekers, who are stranded on the country's border with Turkey. This comes days after a woman was found shot dead in the same region, and a migrant boat is reported to be drifting off the island of Samos.
The Turkish coast guard on Tuesday stopped 168 people aboard a fishing boat in the Aegean Sea that authorities said was headed for Italy. In March alone, Turkish authorities stopped 17,587 irregular migrants in the country who were trying to make it to Europe.
The Turkish coast guard says that it has rescued about 120 migrants in several operations in the Aegean Sea. At least four boats were pushed back into Turkey's waters by Greece, the reports claim.
Greece authorities have accused Turkey's coast guard of trying to push into Greek waters a boat with migrants. Athens has called on the EU to put pressure on Ankara to meet its international obligations.
Greece has once again blamed Turkey for "violating its obligations" after rescuing 10 migrants from a capsized vessel in the Aegean Sea on Friday that - says Greek Migration Minister - "was allowed to depart from Turkish territorial waters."
Greece has accused Turkey of trying to help migrant boats in the Aegean Sea to reach Europe. The Greek coast guard claimed that in one incident, two Turkish patrol vessels "tried to push" a migrant dinghy into Greek territory.
The allegations against the Greek coast guard come as Greece accuses Turkey of aiding human traffickers move migrants and refugees to Greece.
German soldiers have filed reports saying that they had repeatedly observed migrant boats in the Mediterranean being pushed back into Turkish waters. The German dpa news agency said it had information chronicling at least three such instances in June 2020 alone.
The Legal Centre Lesvos, a legal charity registered in Greece and operating on the island of Lesbos, has just released a report in which it has documented allegations of illegal push-backs of migrants by the Greek authorities in the Aegean Sea.
In the early hours of Monday morning, the Turkish coast guard reported that it had rescued 35 migrants after their boat began taking on water in the Aegean Sea. Searches continue for four people reported missing from the boat.
The EU foreign minister has said that Europe is determined to protect its external borders. Josep Borrell was on a visit to Greece, which accused its neighbor Turkey of encouraging a new surge of migrants into Europe.
An investigation carried out by German news magazine "Der Spiegel," German TV show "Report Mainz" and Netherlands-based media non-profit organization "Lighthouse Reports" claims that Greek Coast Guard officers intercept migrant boats coming from Turkey and send them back to Turkey in unseaworthy life rafts.