ISTANBUL (AP) – Dozens of migrants arrived in Turkey on Tuesday, Turkish officials said, as part of a migration deal with the European Union meant to stem the flow of people heading to Europe’s prosperous heartland.
Ferries carrying a total of 49 migrants from the Greek islands of Kos, Chios and Lesbos reached the Turkish port towns of Gulluk, Cesme and Dikili, according to Turkish news agencies and an official at Dikili, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government rules.
According to the deal finalized last month, Turkey will take back migrants who reached Greece after March 20, unless they successfully apply for asylum in Greece. For every Syrian among those returned, Europe has pledged to take a Syrian refugee directly from Turkey to be resettled in an EU country.
Tuesday’s group, from Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Myanmar, was the third wave of migrants to be returned to Turkey.
As part of the deal, some refugee camps on the eastern Aegean Greek islands have been turned into closed detention centers holding those who face potential deportation.