ISTANBUL

Türkiye rescued 37 irregular migrants and apprehended 143 in separate operations, the Turkish Coast Guard announced Wednesday.

Twenty migrants, including nine children, were rescued from a life raft pushed back by Greek forces early Tuesday off the coast of southwestern Bodrum and Mugla, said the Turkish Coast Guard.

Another 17 migrants, including six children, who were also pushed back by Greek authorities were rescued from a life raft, the statement added.

Ankara and global rights groups have repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back migrants, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.

In Mugla, two more groups were intercepted. The Coast Guard stopped a rubber dinghy off Bodrum, apprehending 33 migrants, including 16 children. Another 35 migrants in a rubber boat, including 13 children, were also apprehended in a separate operation.

In Eceabat district in Canakkale province, 21 migrants, including five children, were captured on land. Off Kusadasi in Aydin province, 18 migrants were intercepted, including a child and a suspected smuggler. In Urla in Izmir province a rubber dinghy carrying 36 migrants, including 13 children, was stopped.

Türkiye has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.