Turkey: Over 7,500 irregular migrants held in past week

ANKARA

At least 7,566 irregular migrants were held across Turkey over the past week, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency from security sources.

As many as 3,899 migrants were held in multiple operations carried out by gendarmerie forces in the northwestern Edirne province, bordering Greece and Bulgaria.

According to local security forces in Edirne, Greece has recently stepped up efforts to send irregular migrants to Turkey in violation of the Geneva Conventions, European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention Against Torture.

In the coastal provinces of Canakkale, Balikesir, Aydin, Izmir and Mugla, the Turkish Coast Guard and gendarmerie forces rounded up a total of 2,450 migrants as they were trying to cross to Europe through Greece.

Separately, in the northwestern provinces of Kirklareli and Tekirdag, a total of 100 migrants were held by gendarmerie forces.

Moreover, border forces in the southern Hatay province caught 179 migrants for reportedly entering Turkey from Syria through illegal means.

Some 76 irregular migrants were also held by police in the southern province of Adana, while in the eastern Malatya province, 39 irregular migrants were held by the gendarmerie.

Also, in the western Sakarya province, 73 irregular migrants were rounded up by police.

The migrants included Pakistani, Congolese, Syrian, Iraqi, Afghan, Egyptian, Bangladeshi, Senegalese, Central African, Algerian, Somali, Libyan, Togo, Cameroonian, Ghanian, Jordanian, Sudanese, Nepali, Yemeni and Palestinian, Liberian, Eritrean, Nigerian, Sierra Leonean, Guinean nationals.

All of the migrants held during the week were either taken to hospitals for medical care or transferred to provincial migration offices.

In 2018, some 268,000 irregular migrants were held in Turkey, according to the Interior Ministry. Turkey has been a key transit point for irregular migrants aiming to cross to Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.