Greece says 12 Syrians have been returned to Turkey as part of an agreement between the European Union and Turkey aiming to stop the flow of refugees migrating to more prosperous northern European countries, the Associated Press reported.
Among the 12 refugees were a woman and her four children, who were flown on a chartered plane from the Greek island of Lesbos to Adana in Turkey. Greece's citizens' protection ministry added that all 12 had expressed the wish to return to Turkey and none had applied for asylum in Greece.
Under the deal reached last month, new refugees and migrants arriving illegally - through unofficial border crossings or by boats in the Aegean Sea - will face being returned to Turkey unless they successfully submit an asylum application in Greece. At least 386 people have been returned to Turkey under the agreement so far.
