VIDEO: Refugees Returning from Greece to Turkey

Mon Apr 4, 2016 13:06:44

The first of two Turkish-flagged passenger boats carrying 131 migrants arrived in the Turkish town of Dikili early on Monday, accompanied by two Turkish coast guard vessels and a police helicopter buzzing overhead, a Reuters witness said.

A passenger ferry carrying migrants to be returned from Greece under EU-Turkey deal docks in the Turkish town of Dikili.

Under the EU-Turkey deal, Ankara will take back all migrants and refugees who enter Greece illegally, including Syrians, in return for the EU taking in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and rewarding it with more money, early visa-free travel and progress in its EU membership negotiations.

A few dozen police and immigration officials waited outside a small white tent on the quayside as the migrants began to disembark behind security fencing.

The returnees were primarily from Pakistan and some from Bangladesh and they had not applied for asylum, said Ewa Mon.

Turkish coast guard units intercepts dozens of migrants trying to sail to Greek Island of Lesbos as a EU deal to return rejected asylum seekers go into effect.

Turkey is home to more than 2.7 million Syrian refugees alone, and for many, the attraction of Europe is unlikely to diminish with the agreement taking effect. People traffickers are likely to focus on new routes, officials fear.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and human rights groups have denounced the agreement as lacking legal safeguards. Amnesty International has called it "a historic blow to human rights" and said it would send a delegation to Lesbos and nearby Chios on Monday to monitor the situation.

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