Over 750 irregular migrants held in northwest Turkey

By Hakan Mehmet Sahin

EDIRNE, Turkey (AA) - Turkish security forces on Tuesday held a total of 782 irregular migrants attempting to cross to Europe through the country’s northwestern Edirne province, according to security sources.

Provincial gendarmerie forces and police officers carried out operations to stop migrants seeking to go to Europe illegally, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Among the migrants held were nationals of Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

They were later referred to the provincial migration office for the official process.

Turkey's Edirne province borders Greece and Bulgaria, so irregular migrants wanting to reach Europe use the province as a transit road, but security forces' tight monitoring has stemmed the flow.

In 2018, some 268,000 irregular migrants were held in Turkey, according to the Interior Ministry.