Greece asks Turkey to help migrants reported stuck on islet

By COSTAS KANTOURIS
Associated Press

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek police say neighboring Turkey has been asked to help about 40 migrants, some urgently requiring medical aid, reported by aid groups to have been stranded for days on a river islet inside a restricted military zone at their border. The request was made Thursday after it emerged that the islet on the Evros River wasn’t Greek territory. The Greek Council for Refugees said the migrants, who had allegedly been batted from side to side by Greek and Turkish authorities, told them a 5-year-old girl on the islet died after being stung by a scorpion. Greece denies persistent allegations that it commits pushbacks — sending asylum-seekers back to the country they entered from without being allowed to request asylum.