Turkey prevents irregular migration of 430,000 in 2018

HATAY/İZMİR- Anadolu Agency

Irregular migration of 430,000 people in 2018 have been prevented as a result of Turkey’s improved security measures, according to security sources.

Border guards in southern Hatay province, which borders Syria’s Idlib, Afrin and Latakia regions, conduct 24-hour foot patrols along the border.

Apart from the 2.5-meter high security wall -90 percent of which has been completed- along the border, technological devices, such as thermal cameras, lighting and motion sensor systems, drones and surveillance cameras also help prevent irregular migration.

In first nine months of 2018, the border guards detained around 200,000 Syrians crossing to Turkey and referred them to the gendarmerie forces for required processes, said the sources who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

During the security investigations, nearly 100 of the migrants, who were found to have links to terror groups or that were involved in criminal activities, were also referred to judicial authorities.

The security forces also prevented another 230,000 people’s illegal entrance to Turkey.

State of the art vehicles produced by domestic and national facilities, such as underground and surface motion detector systems, as well as cameras allowing sight even in foggy weather, made a great contribution to the prevention of irregular migration.

Acoustic detectors installed underground strengthened the mobility of security forces by detecting border violations and possible tunnel digging activities along with movements of human and vehicles.

Coast Guard rescues 48 migrants

On a related note, at least 48 irregular migrants have been rescued off Turkey’s western coast on Oct. 24.

The migrants, including 15 women and three children, requested help from the Turkish Coast Guard when their rubber boat started taking in water off the Urla district of İzmir province.

Among the migrants were nationals of Congo, Central Africa, Senegal and Palestine.

Turkey has been a main route for irregular migrants trying to cross into Europe, especially since 2011 when the Syrian civil war began.