UPDATE - 53 irregular migrants held in Turkey

UPDATES WITH MORE IRREGULAR MIGRANTS HELD, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Muzaffer Cagliyaner, Sertac Bulur

ANKARA / OSMANIYE, Turkey (AA) - At least 53 irregular migrants, 51 Afghan and two Pakistani nationals, were held in Turkey on Wednesday, according to security sources.

Police teams in the capital Ankara rounded up 48 migrants in four different operations carried out in Golbasi, Kecioren and Altindag districts, and at the city’s main inter-city bus terminal, said a source on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Procedures are underway to deport the migrants, it added.

In a separate operation, gendarmerie forces stopped a minibus in the Bahce district of southern Osmaniye province and held at least five irregular migrants, who had entered the country through illegal means, another source said.

The migrants were transferred to the local provincial migration office after routine procedures.

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

It hosts nearly 4 million refugees, including more than 3.6 million Syrians, the most of any country in the world.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk