At least 23 irregular migrants held across Turkey

By Ozgun Tiran, Sabri Kesen and Jeyhun Aliyev

KIRKLARELI / MARMARIS / ANKARA, Turkey (AA) – At least 23 irregular migrants who entered Turkey illegally were held in various provinces, security sources said Wednesday.

In the northwestern province of Kirklareli, 10 Afghan nationals – including children – who entered Turkey via illegal means were held by gendarmerie forces near the border with Bulgaria.

After routine procedures, they were transferred to a nearby repatriation center.

Also, one injured irregular migrant found near the Derekoy border gate, a land border crossing between Turkey and Bulgaria, was taken to hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, after learning that the asylum seekers were stranded on life raft off the coast of Marmaris district in Turkey’s western Mugla province, the regional coast guard command sent teams to the area, said a source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Arriving there, the coast guard teams rescued 10 irregular migrants, it added.

All of the irregular migrants were taken to the provincial migration center.

Separately, acting on a tip-off, a coast guard team was dispatched to an area off the coast of Turkey’s southwestern Aydin province to rescue asylum seekers.

Two asylum seekers – who were pushed back by the Greek Coast Guard into Turkish territorial waters and managed to reach the coast by swimming were taken to the coast guard boat and carried to the shore, where they were later referred to the provincial migration office.

Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers aiming to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

It hosts nearly 4 million refugees, including over 3.6 million Syrians – more than any other country in the world.

Turkey has repeatedly condemned Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back asylum seekers, which is also condemned by international human rights groups, saying it violates humanitarian values and international law by endangering the lives of vulnerable migrants, including women and children.