Via Ekathimerini – Turkey’s coast guard says it stopped 71 Syrian migrants attempting to reach Greece. The migrants were stopped in a rubber dinghy early Tuesday in Izmir province, on the Aegean sea, as they began their journey to the Greek island of Lesvos.

According to Turkish coast guard statistics, more than 5,000 migrants have been stopped so far this year, a fifth of the total number in 2016.