UPDATE 3 - Nearly 600 undocumented migrants held in Turkey

UPDATES WITH NUMBER OF MIGRANTS HELD, HEADLINE

By Salih Baran, Necat Hazar, Ferdi Uzun and Muzahim Zahid Tuzun

EDIRNE, Turkey (AA) - A total of 590 undocumented migrants were held across Turkey, security sources said on Wednesday.

Border guards held 218 migrants in the northwestern Edirne province’s Meric and Lalapasa districts, according to a security source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Among the migrants were Afghan, Pakistani, Palestinian, Iraqi, Moroccan, Algerian, Sri Lankan and Vietnamese nationals.

In the eastern province of Van, gendarmerie units rounded up a total of 87 undocumented migrants, a security source said.

Of them, 81 were Afghan nationals and six Pakistani nationals who entered the country by illegal means.

Separately, coast guard teams intercepted a rubber boat carrying 41 Syrian migrants, attempting to illegally cross over to Greek islands, in the Aegean Sea off the coast of western Izmir's Seferihisar district.

In the Didim district of the Aegean province of Aydin, 43 undocumented migrants -- all Syrian nationals -- were held by security forces.

Also, customs officials rounded up seven undocumented Iraqi migrants, who were wrapped in aluminum foil inside a truck at Istanbul's Pendik Ro-Ro Port.

In Urla town of western Izmir province, two Cubans, a Syrian, and 30 migrants from various African countries were held.

Also, in eastern Kars province, 130 migrants including Afghan nationals were held.

In central province of Kayseri, gendarmerie forces arrested 34 undocumented migrants, including Afghans, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, who were travelling in a bus after entering Turkey by illegal means.

The forces also apprehended three people for human trafficking.

The migrants were sent to a provincial migration authority.

Turkey has been a main route for refugees trying to cross into Europe, especially since the beginning of the civil war in Syria.