MIgrant deal doubts as Turkey accused of sending thousands of Syrians home

Turkey has been accused of sending up to 100 Syrians a day back to their own country as its record on dealing with migrants came under renewed scrutiny on Friday. It was said to have illegally rounded up thousands of men, women and children and returned them to their war-torn homeland. In one case three young children were forced back into Syria without their parents, while another involved the forced return of an eight-months’ pregnant woman, according to an Amnesty International report. The revelations came days ahead of the start of a deal by which Turkey will will accept migrants returned from Europe and prompted the United Nations to call for legal safeguards to be in place before refugees were returned to Turkey.

The inhumanity and scale of the returns is truly shocking; Turkey should stop them immediately

John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International director

Earlier on Friday, five migrants were injured after a brawl in a camp on the Greek island of Chios. They were hurt in clashes which flared between Syrians and Afghans following protests in which migrants demanded they be allowed to the overcrowded Vial camp. Police used stun grenades to restore calm during the fight, which caused serious damage to facilities including its medical dispensary. About 51,000 refugees and migrants are in Greece waiting to hear if they will be allowed to travel on to other parts of Europe.

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