Greek coast guard opens fire on Turkish-flagged cargo vessel in Aegean Sea – report

Published time: 3 Jul, 2017 14:59
Edited time: 3 Jul, 2017 17:59

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said it strongly condemns the incident in which Greek coast guard boats reportedly fired shots at a Turkish freighter in the Aegean Sea on Monday, calling it an “unmeasured” act on the part of Athens.

"There is no justification... for firing on an unarmed commercial ship carrying freight between two Turkish ports. Our sole consolation is that nobody was killed or injured as a result of the incident," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Ankara said it condemns the actions of the Greek coast guard, carried out in “disregard for human life, which is the most basic right.”

The ministry said it was important to notify the international community of Athens’ behavior to make sure “similar events will never happen again.”

A cargo vessel sailing under the Turkish flag, named ‘ACT,’ has come under fire from Greek coast guard boats in the Aegean Sea, Turkey’s NTV broadcaster reported.

The freighter reportedly picked up cargo in the Turkish port of Iskenderun and was moving in the direction of the Izmit Bay of the Sea of Marmara.

While in the Aegean Sea, the Turkish ship was approached by Greek coast guard vessels, which demanded that it enter a port on the Greek island of Rhodes for cargo inspection.

https://www.rt.com/news/395152-greece-turkey-ship-fire-incident/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/03/greek-coast-guards-fire-...

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/07/03/527342/Turkey-Greece-ship-i...