T24 Billboards like this have sprung up across Turkey

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Posters reading “please do not jeopardise the life of your family or your own” in Arabic appeared in the Aegean city of Izmir, the main departure hub for would-be migrants. The posters, which list the emergency number for the coastguard and show adults and children clinging to a sinking dinghy, are a joint initiative by the Turkish interior ministry and the United Nations Refugee Agency UNCHR, the Turkish newspaper Sabah reported.

At the height of the refugee exodus last summer, the port town of Izmir quickly gained a reputation as the smuggling hub of Turkey, where refugees and migrants would meet up with smugglers offering one-way tickets to Greece. These days, the smuggling business is struggling: the numbers of migrants attempting to reach Greece’s easternmost islands has plummeted since the Balkan countries closed their borders and the European Union struck a deal to return new arrivals to Turkey.

Posters reading “please do not jeopardise the life of your family or your own” in Arabic appeared in the Aegean city of Izmir, the main departure hub for would-be migrants. The posters, which list the emergency number for the coastguard and show adults and children clinging to a sinking dinghy, are a joint initiative by the Turkish interior ministry and the United Nations Refugee Agency UNCHR, the Turkish newspaper Sabah reported.

At the height of the refugee exodus last summer, the port town of Izmir quickly gained a reputation as the smuggling hub of Turkey, where refugees and migrants would meet up with smugglers offering one-way tickets to Greece. These days, the smuggling business is struggling: the numbers of migrants attempting to reach Greece’s easternmost islands has plummeted since the Balkan countries closed their borders and the European Union struck a deal to return new arrivals to Turkey.

GETTY One billboard appeared in Izmir, the main departure hub for would-be migrants

The EU’s border protection agency Frontex announced last week that 2,700 people arrived in Greece in April, a 90 per cent drop compared to March. The Turkish coastguard said that for the past 66 days, it had recorded no deaths at sea. At the end of March, Turkey and the EU agreed to send back all migrants and refugees who reach Greece.

The EU’s border protection agency Frontex announced last week that 2,700 people arrived in Greece in April, a 90 per cent drop compared to March. The Turkish coastguard said that for the past 66 days, it had recorded no deaths at sea. At the end of March, Turkey and the EU agreed to send back all migrants and refugees who reach Greece.

GETTY Turkey and the EU agreed a deal to send migrants back from Greece

Turkey, in return, has been promised financial aid and visa-free travel to Schengen countries. The deal, however, is threatening to unravel as Ankara is refusing to change its anti-terror laws to align with European standards, a key benchmark to receiving visa-free travel.