MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The Turkish Coast Guard had already captured 918 migrants off the country's western coast in a series of operations, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing security officials.
The number of boat migrants captured by the coast guards in both the Aegean and the Mediterranean seas was 538 in June and 881 in July, the agency added.
Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing their crisis-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty. The majority of them cross the Mediterranean Sea and arrive in the European Union using southern EU nations as transit points.
According to the International Organization for Migration, about 266,000 migrants have arrived in the European Union via the Mediterranean Sea since the beginning of the year and at least 3,156 died on their way in 2016.
