By Associated Press - Saturday, September 21, 2019

TIRANA, Albania (AP) - Albania’s Defense Ministry says one of its ships in the Aegean Sea has rescued 111 migrants trying to cross into Greece, and has handed them over to Turkish authorities.

Defense Minister Olta Xhacka on Saturday wrote on her Facebook page that the Syrian, Iraqi and Palestinian migrants were “rescued in three different operations within a few hours in the waters between Turkey and Greece.”

She added the migrants were found late Friday evening by the Oriku ship, part of Frontex, the European Union’s border control force, in two speedboats and a small boat. They were handed over to the Turkish Coast guard.”

Albania, a NATO member since 2009, is part of the Western military alliance’s maritime mission in the Aegean Sea.

Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC.

Please read our comment policy before commenting.

Click to Read More and View Comments

Click to Hide