Greek ire at Turkey’s ‘help’ for migrants
Greece has lodged an official complaint with Turkey because it believes that coast guard patrol boats from the neighboring country have effectively been escorting vessels carrying illegal immigrants into Greek waters. The Foreign Ministry filed the complaint on Saturday but sources said there was another incident yesterday when a fishing boat carrying 19 migrants was ushered toward Lesvos. Greek authorities believe that Turkey is turning a blind eye to human trafficking, which has led to an increase in the number of migrants and smugglers being intercepted by the coast guard. Since the start of the year, patrol boats have picked up almost 8,900 immigrants and 153 traffickers. During the whole of last year, 9,240 migrants and 196 smugglers were detained.
