Greece, Turkiye trade claims over 'naked' migrants, UN investigates

The United Nations is investigating claims that a large group of migrants was forced over the border from Turkiye into Greece.

The 92 migrants, who were reportedly all men and largely naked, had allegedly been taken to the Evros River, which separates the countries, before being forced across in inflatable boats.

The UN said it will also look at claims that members of the group were bruised, as if they had been beaten.

"We condemn such cruel and degrading treatment and call for a full investigation into this incident," the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said in a tweet.

The French news service Agence France-Presse, or AFP, first reported the arrival of the group after confirming reports with the European Union's border agency Frontex.

Paulina Bakula, a spokeswoman for Frontex, told AFP: "The Frontex officers reported that the migrants were found almost naked and some of them with visible injuries."

Greece's ministry for civil protection subsequently issued a photo of the bedraggled group, which it called an "inhuman image".

The Associated Press news agency said Frontex confirmed it will work with the Greek authorities to ensure the migrants have clothing, food, and shelter.

The migrants will subsequently be processed and given refugee status while their cases are dealt with. Migrants deemed to have attempted to enter the EU illegally for economic reasons could, theoretically, be deported.

AP reported that most of the migrants are believed to have originated from Afghanistan and Syria.

Takis Theodorikakos, Greece's minister for civil protection, said Athens believes the incident is an example of Turkiye's direct involvement in "illegal immigration".

He told the Greek television channel Skai "three Turkish army vehicles had transferred" the migrants to the border on Friday.

Turkiye strongly denied the allegations, saying Greece was guilty of "manipulations and dishonesty" in its interpretation of what happened.

Fahrettin Altun, the communications director for Turkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Greece's migration minister was "sharing false information".

"Greece has shown once again to the entire world that it does not respect the dignity of refugees by posting these oppressed people's pictures it has deported after extorting their personal possessions," he wrote on Twitter.

The incident is the latest in a series of arguments between Greece and Turkiye over the migrant issue, with Turkiye frequently accusing Greece of forcibly pushing back migrants, and Greece claiming Turkiye has encouraged illegal migration in a bid to destabilize Europe.

Last month, Erdogan said during a speech at the UN that Greece had made the Aegean Sea into a "cemetery" because of its immigration policies.

The BBC said around 1 million migrants are thought to have entered the EU through Turkiye during 2015 and 2016. In 2016, the flow slowed after Turkiye reached a deal with the bloc to restrict access to the border in return for billions of euros in aid.