The Turkish Coast Guard Command came to the rescue of 25,889 irregular migrants pushed back by Greece in the Aegean Sea throughout 2023, according to data from the agency.

The Turkish coast guard, the last hope of many refugees who risk death in perilous waters, also prevented 25,770 irregular migrant crossings and pulled ashore some 4,962 others who called for help while attempting the crossing.

The agency said it intercepted a total of 56,621 irregular migrants in 2023, up from the 49,231 asylum-seekers caught or saved in 2022.

It also recovered the bodies of some 20 migrants that perished at sea.

The highest number of pushbacks occurred off the coast of western Izmir province, which has a meandering coast stretching over 460 kilometers (285.83 miles) and close to the Greek islands.

The Turkish Coast Guard Command saved 11,715 asylum-seekers pushed back toward Izmir and some 11,317 others trying to illegally set sail from the city in 2023.

In other western provinces, the coast guard rescued 5,958 migrants near Muğla, 3,377 near Çanakkale, 2,452 near Aydın and 2,387 others near Balıkesir.

Authorities also caught irregular migrants attempting to illegally exit the country, including 5,987 in Muğla, 5,064 in Çanakkale, 1,987 in Balıkesir and 1,414 others in Aydın.

Additionally, they arrested some 180 migrant smugglers operating in the region.

‘Recurring practice’

Many boatloads of migrants attempt to make the dangerous sea crossing to reach the Greek islands from the Turkish coast, hoping to eventually make their way to prosperous European Union countries.

Others attempt to enter Greece by crossing the Maritsa (Meriç) River that runs along the land border between the two countries.

While many make it to the EU, many others perish at sea or are pushed back by Greece into Turkish waters in violation of international law.

Athens’ illegal practice has been documented by Türkiye, international human rights groups and charities on many occasions, as well as in accounts of migrants intercepted in the Aegean or land borders.

Greece has made a "recurring practice" of alleged secret, illegal and often brutal deportations back to Türkiye, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a report released Oct. 31, citing 50 testimonies over the past two years from migrants.

Athens has strongly denied such so-called "pushbacks," arguing that its coast guard has saved hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East and Africa crossing in small boats from Türkiye.

Greece says it needs to protect its borders, which are also those of the EU, from mass illegal immigration. It has stepped up patrols in the Aegean Sea with the help of the European Border Surveillance Agency, Frontex.

The MSF said the current situation at Europe's borders "is the result of EU policies that condone and enable continued violence against individuals in need."

In the first nine months of the year, migrant arrivals in Greece spiked to over 29,700 people, compared to 11,000 in the same period in 2022, according to figures from the Greek government.

Latest figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) too revealed more than 2,750 people went missing and are presumed dead in the central Mediterranean this year, higher than in any of the last five years.

As part of recently revived talks to mend long-tense bilateral ties, Greece and Türkiye are floating a renewal of a 2016 EU deal restricting migration, as well.

Measures

Türkiye itself copes with the irregular migration phenomenon as crises across the world once again put it at the forefront of migrant influx as a gateway to Europe.

The country, which already hosts 4 million refugees, more than any other country in the world, is taking new measures at its borders to prevent a fresh influx of migrants, balancing a humanitarian policy and the need to stop thousands from risking their lives.

As most irregular migrants try to infiltrate into Türkiye through its eastern borders, the country recently began construction of a security wall and authorities say 80% of the wall and a 1,234-kilometer-long patrolling strip next to the wall are completed.

The Directorate of Migration set up "mobile migration points" to speed up the processing of irregular migrants. The migration points help law enforcement in the field to check for irregular migrants.

They use a fingerprint database to check the identity of suspected irregular migrants and cut the red tape for legal migrants who have to prove that they have permits, often by visiting police stations.