Turkey to readmit more migrants from Greece as EU deal faces protests
Turkey is ready to take in another 200 migrants deported from the Greek islands this week, a senior government official said, as it presses ahead with a disputed EU deal aimed at shutting down the main route for illegal migration into Europe.
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A first group of 202 migrants, mostly Pakistani and Afghan, were shipped back to Turkey on April 4 under an agreement which will see Ankara take back all migrants and refugees who cross the Aegean to enter Greece illegally.
In return, the European Union will take in thousands of Syrian refugees directly from Turkey and reward it with money, visa-free travel and progress in its EU membership negotiations.
"This arrangement will prevent the Aegean Sea being turned into a cemetery for migrants," Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in parliament of a deal meant to dissuade migrants from attempting perilous illegal sea crossings.
Turkey was initially expecting a second group of 200 migrants to be sent back on April 6, but the government official said Greek authorities had informed their Turkish counterparts that the move would be delayed until April 8.
The pact has been criticized by refugee agencies and human rights campaigners, who have cast it as inhumane, questioned its legality, and argued Turkey is not a safe country for refugees.
Several dozen migrants being detained at a holding camp on the Greek island of Lesbos protested behind the barbed wire fence of the compound on April 5, shouting "We want freedom!"
They were among thousands of refugees and migrants who have arrived on Lesbos on or since March 20 from Turkey and who are being held until their asylum requests are processed and they are accepted or sent back under the deal.
