Over 100 irregular migrants held in Turkey

By Mehmet Toktas and Mehmet Yavas

HATAY/CANAKKALE, Turkey (AA) - A total of 105 irregular migrants, including women and children, were held across Turkey, security sources said on Thursday.

Sixty migrants -- all Syrian nationals -- were rounded up in Yayladagi district of the southern border province of Hatay, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media.

Separately in Ayvacik district of northwestern Canakkale province, police rounded up 45 Afghan nationals, including women and children.

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.