Refugee boats fall victims to attacks by gunmen in Aegean Sea: HRW
Human Rights Watch (HRW) says gunmen have carried out a series of assaults on vessels carrying the asylum seekers trying to cross the Aegean Sea, calling on Greece to take action against such incidents.
The New York-based rights group said on Thursday that there had been eight incidents, in which masked assailants, who were often armed, “intercepted and disabled” refugee boats from Turkey toward the Greek islands.
Quoting a group of nine witnesses, the HRW said the most recent attacks happened on October 7 and 9 this year.
According to the witnesses, the assailants damaged the refugee vessels, removed their engines or fuel or punctured the hulls of inflatable boats.
“Disabling boats in the Aegean makes an already dangerous journey even more likely to result in death,” said Eva Cossé, Greece specialist at HRW, adding, “These criminal actions require an urgent response from the Greek authorities.”
Human Rights Watch also found cases, in which Greek border guards summarily returned asylum seekers to Turkey across the region of Evros.
Ali, a 17-year-old Afghan witness to the October 9 incident, said a speedboat with five men armed with handguns had rammed the rubber dinghy carrying him and other refugee.
“At first when they approached, we thought they had come to help us,” he said, adding, “By the way they acted, we realized they hadn’t come to help. They were so aggressive. They didn’t come on board our boat, but they took our boat’s engine and then sped away.”
Hassan, a 27-year-old Syrian witness to the October 7 incident, also said that masked men punctured the boat carrying him along with 22 other people and beat them. He further accused the Turkish coast guard of trying to block their way at the sea.
According to the latest figures released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), approximately 300 refugees have died in the Aegean Sea so far this year while making a journey to the European continent.
Last week, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported a surge in the number of refugee boats arriving from Turkey.
Most of the asylum seekers who risk their lives to reach Europe are reportedly fleeing conflict-hit zones in Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria. However, officials in the European countries are divided over how to deal with refugees.
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