Photo: Traces of shots fired at the Greek vessel
On the morning of 12 April, an armed incident between the Greek coastguard and a Turkish fishing vessel took place in Greek territorial waters off the island of Lesvos. This was reported by Ekathimerini.
According to the Greek authorities, a Turkish boat opened fire with a Kalashnikov rifle on a Greek patrol ship while it was attempting to check a vessel suspected of smuggling migrants.
Three shots and return fire
The incident took place at around 8:00 am. The suspects fired three shots in the direction of the Greek coastguard ship. According to the protocol, Greek security forces returned fire, forcing the Turkish boat to retreat towards the Turkish coast.
There were no injuries among the crew of the Greek vessel. The ship returned to the port of Mytilene.
Smugglers land migrants on Lesvos
According to preliminary reports, the incident occurred during an attempt to disembark migrants on the southern coast of Lesvos near Agios Fokas beach.
The coastguard chased the Turkish vessel to the limits of Turkish territorial waters, after which it notified the Turkish side of the incident.
Twenty-five migrants were found on the shore and taken to the Kara Tepe identification centre.
The investigation is ongoing
The Greek authorities have launched a preliminary investigation into the incident. There was no information on casualties from either side of the shooting.
This is not the first time that the situation on the sea border between Greece and Turkey has become tense, as the region remains an area of active confrontation in the context of illegal migration and border security.
