Greece returns 21 migrants to Turkey under EU deal

By Furkan Naci Top

ATHENS

Greece returned 21 migrants to Turkey on Thursday as part of the readmission agreement between EU and Turkey, Greek authorities said.

According to a statement issued by Greece’s Ministry of Citizen Protection, all 21 migrants are men, whose asylum applications were rejected.

The migrants were transferred from Greek island Lesbos to Turkey’s coastal town of Dikili in Izmir province.

According to an EU-Turkey deal to prevent mass migration to Europe, Turkey is to readmit all irregular migrants crossing into the Greek islands from the country.

A total of 1,014 such migrants have so far been sent back to Turkey under the deal that came into effect in March 2016.

Reporting by Furkan Naci Top; Writing by Fatih Hafız Mehmet