More than 47,000 migrants leaving Turkey

By Jeyhun Aliyev and Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) - The number of migrants leaving Turkey via its northwestern border province of Edirne reached 47,113, the country's interior minister said late Saturday.

Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter that figure was registered as of 11.50 p.m. local time (2050GMT).

Turkish officials announced Friday they would no longer try to stop irregular migrants from reaching Europe.

The decision was made after 34 Turkish soldiers were martyred by regime forces in Idlib, Syria.

Turkish soldiers are working to protect local civilians under a 2018 deal with Russia under which acts of aggression are prohibited in the region.

Thousands of irregular migrants have since flocked to Edirne in an attempt to make their way into Europe.

Turkey already hosts some 3.7 million migrants from Syria alone, more than any other country in the world.

It has repeatedly complained that Europe has failed to keep its promises to help migrants and stem further migrant waves.