Tragic Aegean clash: Greek Coast Guard kills migrant amid escalating tensions in Mediterranean migration crisis.
On 23 August, a 39-year-old migrant lost his life on Friday after the Greek Coast Guard fired on a boat carrying migrants near the island of Symi in the eastern Aegean Sea, according to official sources.
The Coast Guard reported that the man likely died from a gunshot wound. The shots were aimed at the boat’s outboard motor in an attempt to bring the vessel to a halt after it ignored repeated commands to stop.
A Coast Guard representative told Reuters that an investigation is now underway, though specific details have not been released. A source familiar with the investigation mentioned that a Greek prosecutor has ordered the arrest of the officer who fired the shots, as well as the seizure of his weapon.
The boat, which had 14 migrants on board—eight men, one woman, and five minors—had departed from the Turkish coast and illegally entered Greek territorial waters, according to the Coast Guard.
When spotted by a Coast Guard patrol, the boat allegedly accelerated and disregarded both visual and auditory warnings. It then performed dangerous maneuvers, coming dangerously close to the Coast Guard vessel and putting its crew at risk, the authorities reported.
“Warning shots were fired to mitigate an immediate threat to the Coast Guard vessel and its crew… Targeted shots were subsequently fired at the outboard motor to immobilize the boat,” the Coast Guard’s statement noted.
The deceased migrant is believed to be from Kuwait. Two men have been detained on suspicion of human trafficking.
Since 2015, Greece has served as a key entry point into the European Union for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Nearly one million people arrived on its islands that year alone, triggering an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Thousands more have died at sea in their attempts to reach Europe.
