Hours later the boats arrived in the Turkish harbor town of Dikili where the downcast migrants, clutching blankets and with small backpacks on their shoulders, were escorted off the vessels by security officials.
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“There are Kurds among the casualties.” said Amanj Abdullah, head of the Iraqi Refugees Federation.
Amid protests, Greece has resumed deportations of refugees and migrants from its islands to Turkey after a four-day pause, sending back 45 people from Lesbos to a nearby port on the Turkish coast.
“Until now it is not clear from which part of Kurdistan they were from, but we have been assured they were Kurds”.
In the first wave of deportations last Monday, 202 people, mostly from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, were sent back to Turkey from Lesbos and Chios.
On Friday more than 120 migrants were deported from Greece to Turkey, in a move criticised by human rights groups.
Some 325 migrants have been deported to Turkey from the Greek island of Lesbos under an European Union deal. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said that they had expected to receive 2,050 migrants on Friday.He said those returned Friday were primarily Afghan and Pakistani nationals.
In exchange for accepting the deal, the European Union promised to double the initially foreseen humanitarian aid to Turkey from Euro 3 B to Euro 6 B, to lift visas for Turkish citizens traveling to the Schengen Area by the end of June and accelerate Turkey’s accession negotiations.
Theirs were the first deaths in the Aegean Sea since a controversial EU-Turkey deal aimed at stemming the flow of refugees to Europe took effect three weeks ago.
It is unclear exactly what Turkey’s plans are for assisting the migrants other than to house them in refugee camps.
Some 150 migrants broke out of a camp on the island of Samos on Thursday but were later convinced to return, the government source said.
Rescue teams were now looking for the remaining missing person, they added. The deal also means that for every Syrian migrant arriving in Greece, one will be sent back to Turkey while one Syrian in Turkey will be resettled in the EU.
“If any Syrian asked me today, ‘should I make the journey?’ I’d say go back and die in your land with honor”, said the scrawny young man. “Europe wants you dead”.
De Maiziere also said that an EU-Turkey agreement to stop refugees crossing by boat to EU member Greece had “got off to a good start”.
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Some 1 million people sought refuge in Europe a year ago, mainly fleeing conflicts in the Middle East and Africa.
