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In pictures: Greece sends refugees back to Turkey

First boats carrying people from Greece to Turkey arrive as part of controversial deal to stem flow of people to Europe.

The Deportation Of Refugees To Turkey
Frontex police escort people, who are being deported from Lesbos, on to a ferry before it returns to Turkey. [Milos Bicanski/Getty Images]
Published On 4 Apr 2016

Hundreds of people on Monday started boarding boats back to Turkey from Greece as part of an EU agreement with Ankara aimed at stopping the flow of refugees to Europe.

As part of the deal, for every Syrian refugee returned from Greece to Turkey, another Syrian refugee is to be resettled from Turkey to the EU, with the numbers capped at 72,000.

The deal to send people back across the Aegean Sea has been fiercely criticised by rights groups.

The Deportation Of Refugees To Turkey
Police and refugees on boats bound for Turkey. [Milos Bicanski/Getty Images]
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The Deportation Of Refugees To Turkey
A ferry heads for Turkey on April 4, 2016 in Lesbos, Greece. [Milos Bicanski/Getty Images]
The Deportation Of Refugees To Turkey
People arrive by bus to be deported. [Milos Bicanski/Getty Images]
The Deportation Of Refugees To Turkey
Activists hold a banner as a boat (not pictured) arrives in the Turkish coastal town of Dikili, Turkey. [Murad Sezer/Reuters]
The Deportation Of Refugees To Turkey
People are seen on a bus before boarding a Turkish-flagged passenger boat to be returned to Turkey. [Giorgos Moutafis/Reuters]
The Deportation Of Refugees To Turkey
Activists hold banners as they protest the deportations, at the port of Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos. [Giorgos Moutafis/Reuters]
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The Deportation Of Refugees To Turkey
A man is escorted by a Turkish police officer as he arrives in the coastal town of Dikili, Turkey. [Murad Sezer/Reuters]
The Deportation Of Refugees To Turkey
A banner that reads "Turkey is not safe" is hung by activists during a protest against the deportations in Lesbos, Greece. [Milos Bicanski/Getty Images]