Over 570 undocumented migrants detained in Turkey

VAN/EDİRNE

At least 574 undocumented migrants have been detained across Turkey, security sources said on Aug. 15.

In the northwestern Turkish province of Edirne, Turkish gendarmes and border soldiers detained 208 undocumented migrants during their patrol. 

Security sources told state-run Anadolu Agency that those who were detained in Edirne were from Pakistan, Eritrea, Palestine, Syria, Algeria, Morocco and Libya. 

The foreign nationals were sent to the provincial immigration authority. 

In Kofçaz and Demirköy districts of northwestern Kırklareli province, gendarmerie forces detained 26 undocumented migrants. They were from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Another gendarmerie unit in northwestern Çanakkale province’s Ayvacık district rounded up 41 Afghan nationals.

Separately, police detained 299 irregular migrants in İpekyolu 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.