UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF MIGRANTS HELD; CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE</p> <p>By Ilker Gurel </p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – At least 637 irregular migrants were held across Turkey, security sources said on Thursday. </p> <p>In the northwestern Tekirdag province, 53 irregular migrants were held by security forces, said a source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media. </p> <p>In the eastern Erzincan province, police held 34 irregular migrants that entered Turkey illegally.</p> <p>In another operation, gendarmerie forces held 21 irregular migrants in northwestern Canakkale province. </p> <p>In the Aegean Aydin province, the Turkish Coast Guard held a group of 11 migrants in a rubber boat off the Menderes Delta.
Separately, security forces held 518 irregular migrants during regular patrols in the northwestern Edirne province — bordering Greece and Bulgaria.
All the migrants were referred to provincial migration authorities.
<p>Five people were also arrested on suspicion of human smuggling.</p> <p> </p> <p>Turkey has been the main route for refugees trying to cross to Europe, especially since 2011, when the Syrian civil war began.</p> <p>Some 265,000 irregular migrants were held in Turkey in 2018, according to the Interior Ministry.
* Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur and Busra Nur Bilgic
