Bodies of more migrants who froze to death on Greek border recovered

Turkish security forces have recovered the bodies of seven more irregular migrants, who froze to death after Greek border guards pushed them back, bringing the number of the fatalities to 19.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said the bodies of 12 irregular migrants were found near the İpsala border crossing between Turkey and Greece without shoes and stripped of their clothes.

During the search and rescue operation conducted in the region, units from the local gendarmerie, police and the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) found the bodies of four more people, the border province of Edirne's Governor's Office said in a statement on Feb. 3.

"The European Union and the world have remained silent over the deaths of those people and I do not think they will change their attitudes. And this is not the first time Greece illtreats the migrants. Many lost their lives when their boats were sunken," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Feb. 3, adding that the EU's border agency Frontex is "useless."

The president said that Turkey would raise this issue with world leaders.

Turkey frequently accuses neighboring Greece of illegally pushing back migrants wanting to make their way into Europe.

On Feb. 1, Soylu had slammed Greek authorities, claiming that they threw three migrants into the Aegean Sea, which resulted in one of the victims' death.

He also noted that Frontex "must be held accountable."

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