12 migrants found frozen to death near Greek border

Twelve migrants have been found frozen to death near Turkey’s border with Greece, the interior minister has said.

The bodies were found near the İpsala border crossing “without shoes and stripped of their clothes,” according to a statement, report news agencies.

The governor’s office for Edirne province said one of the migrants died in hospital after being rescued by Turkish authorities.

Turkey has accused Greece of illegally pushing the migrants back over the frontier, leading to their deaths.

Greek border forces acted as “thugs” against a group of 22 migrants, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Twitter.

Soylu also accused the EU member state of showing sympathy toward members of a network — which Turkey says is behind a 2016 failed military coup — who have escaped to Greece.

He further condemned the European Union for being “helpless, weak and inhumane”.

Greece has repeatedly denied accusations that it carries out so-called pushbacks that prevent migrants from applying for international protection.

Turkey — which hosts about 3.7 million Syrian refugees — is a major crossing point for migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa seeking a better life in European Union countries.