This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
The Turkish coastguard says at least 27 people have died after a boat carrying refugees sank off Turkey’s coast near the Greek island of Lesbos.
At least 27 people have died after a boat carrying refugees sank off Turkey’s coast near the Greek island of Lesbos, according to the Turkish coastguard.
A search operation was under way for nine remaining passengers. One person was rescued by a fisherman and three more were rescued by the coastguard, which said it had deployed boats and helicopters to look for more people in the Bay of Edremit.
A search operation was under way for nine remaining passengers. One person was rescued by a fisherman and three more were rescued by the coastguard, which said it had deployed boats and helicopters to look for survivors in the Bay of Edremit.
The Doğan news agency had reported that 11 more people had died in a separate sinking further south, but later corrected that report and said the victims were from the same accident.
The Doğan news agency had reported that 11 more people had died in a separate sinking further south, but later corrected that report and said the victims were from the same accident.
The deaths came as Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, met the Turkish prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, for further talks on reducing the influx of refugees to Europe.
More than 900,000 people fleeing Syria, Afghanistan and other wartorn or impoverished countries arrived in Greece from Turkey last year, often risking their lives to cross the Aegean Sea in overloaded boats. Hundreds have died in the attempt.
Turkey is central to Merkel’s diplomatic efforts to reduce the flow. An unprecedented 1.1 million asylum seekers arrived in Germany last year, many of them fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Turkey and Germany plan to seek help from Nato allies in monitoring the flow of migrants from Syria trying to get to Europe across the Aegean, the Turkish prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Monday.
In her weekly video message on Saturday, Merkel said European Union countries agreed that the bloc needed to protect its external borders better, and that that is why she was seeking a solution with Turkey. She added that, if Europe wanted to prevent smuggling, “we must be prepared to take in quotas of refugees legally and bear our part of the task”.
Related: Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees remain stranded at Turkish border
Related: Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees remain stranded at Turkish border
“I don’t think Europe can keep itself completely out of this,” Merkel added.
Speaking at a joint news conference in Ankara with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, Davutoğlu said the matter would be jointly raised by the two countries at a meeting of Nato defence ministers on Thursday.
Turkey faces pressure from the EU to open its borders to up to 35,000 Syrians who have massed along the frontier in the past few days fleeing an onslaught by government forces.
Turkey is central to Merkel’s diplomatic efforts to reduce the flow of people across Germany’s borders. An unprecedented 1.1 million asylum seekers arrived in Germany last year, many of them fleeing conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
On Monday Davutoğlu said humanity was being tested in Syria and that the ongoing crisis called for cooperation between states.
“Turkey and Germany will together recommend to Nato ... Nato becoming involved concerning the consequences of the flow of refugees from Syria,” Davutoğlu said.
“Aleppo is in effect under siege,” he said. “There is great pressure on Germany with regard to the refugees in Europe. Humanity is being tested in Syria, we have to face this test together.”
“In particular, we will make a joint effort on the effective use of Nato’s observation and monitoring mechanisms on the border and in the Aegean,” he said, giving no further details.
Davutoğlu underlined that nobody should expect Turkey to shoulder the refugee crisis alone, and harshly criticised the ongoing, Russian-backed attack on Aleppo.
Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert wrote on Twitter that support for the Turkish coastguard and the European Union’s Frontex border agency would be discussed at a “Nato level”.
“There are almost 30,000 Syrians waiting at our border … the inhumane attack on Aleppo needs to stop as soon as possible.”
Nato had no immediate comment.
He also said that Turkey had cracked down on human traffickers over the past months in an effort to stem the flow of refugees to the EU, adding that Turkey and Germany would increase joint efforts to curb the activities of human smugglers.
“We have always seen human trafficking, in all its forms, as a crime against humanity, a crime equal to terrorism,” Davutoğlu said. “It is one of the biggest crimes against humanity to exploit the hopes and expectations of innocent people.”
Turkey, home to 2.5 million Syrian refugees, says it has reached its capacity to absorb more but has indicated that it will continue to provide refuge.
It agreed in November to fight smuggling networks and help curb irregular migration. In return, the EU has pledged €3bn (£2.3bn) to help improve the condition of refugees, and to grant political concessions to Turkey, including an easing of visa restrictions and the fast-tracking of its EU membership process.
Turkey has since started to require Syrians arriving from third countries to apply for visas, in an attempt to exclude those who aim to continue on to Greece. It has agreed to grant work permits to Syrians as an incentive for them to stay. Ankara has also announced plans to increase coastguards’ capabilities and designate human smuggling as a form of organised crime, which would bring stiffer punishments.
