Turkish coastguard halts migrants

Turkey's coastguard stopped nearly 200 people trying to reach Greece on Saturday, underlining the challenge security forces face in convincing migrants contemplating the voyage that they will not be allowed to enter the EU, Reuters reports.

A group of 118 Eritreans, Syrians, Iranian and Lebanese people were halted on Saturday as they headed to the Greek island of Chios from Cesme in Turkey in two dinghies, local news agency Dogan reported.

Another group of 63 were stopped as they attempted to travel to Greece's Lesbos from the Turkish coastal town of Dikili. Reuters Television pictures showed the men, women and children sitting in a white tent after being caught, shielding their faces, with a heap of orange life-jackets piled outside.

Disagreements over how to deal with hundreds of thousands of migrants from Syria and elsewhere threatens to tear the 28-nation EU apart, making the deal with Turkey critical to resolving the crisis.

Turkey agreed last month to take back all migrants and refugees who crossed informally into Greece after March 20 in exchange for financial aid, visa-free travel for Turks and slightly accelerated bloc-membership talks.