Greece-bound boat with 310 migrants stopped in Turkey

Published November 04, 2017

Turkish authorities say 310 migrants have been stopped from crossing the Aegean Sea to reach Greece.

Turkey's coast guard said the migrants were stopped Friday afternoon while travelling in a fishing boat south of the Dardanelles in western Turkey.

The coast guard says the passengers included 110 Syrians, 179 Pakistanis and Afghan, Indian, Sri Lankan, Somali and Iranian nationals.

It says seven Turkish and two Belarusian nationals who are thought to be migrant smugglers also were on board.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 857,000 migrants reached Greece from Turkey in 2015. A March 2016 deal between Turkey and the European Union dramatically reduced the number of people attempting the trip.

More than 3.2 million Syrians who fled their country's civil war have ended up in Turkey.

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