UPDATE INCLUDES NEW IRREGULAR MIGRANTS HELD IN NW TURKEY
By Necat Hazar, Mehmet Yavas, Ozgun Tiran and Cihan Demirci
VAN/KIRKLARELI/CANAKKALE/EDIRNE, Turkey (AA) – At least 574 irregular migrants have been held across Turkey, security sources said on Wednesday.
In the northwestern Turkish province of Edirne, Turkish gendarmes and border soldiers held 208 irregular migrants during their patrol.
Security sources told Anadolu Agency that those who were held in Edirne were from Pakistan, Eritrea, Palestine, Syria, Algeria, Morocco and Libya.
The foreign nationals were sent to the provincial immigration authority.
In Kofcaz and Demirkoy districts of northwestern Kirklareli province, gendarmerie forces held 26 irregular migrants. The migrants were from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Another gendarmerie unit in northwestern Canakkale province's Ayvacik district rounded up 41 Afghan nationals.
Separately, police held 299 irregular migrants in Ipekyolu district of Van province in eastern Turkey.
Turkey has been a main route for irregular migrants trying to cross into Europe, especially since 2011 when the Syrian civil war began.
Among the migrants held in 2017 in Turkey, the majority came from Pakistan — around 15,000 — followed by Afghans at around 12,000. Syrians totaled about 10,000.
There has been a 60-percent increase in migrant flow since 2016. The number was 31,000 in 2016.
