UPDATE - Over 590 undocumented migrants held across Turkey

UPDATES WITH MORE PEOPLE HELD, HEADLINE FIGURE UPDATED

By Ramazan Ercan, Cihan Demirci and Goksel Kayseri

IZMIR/EDIRNE, Turkey (AA) - At least 595 undocumented migrants were held across Turkey on Thursday, according to security sources.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said gendarmerie forces and the coast guard detained 203 migrants across the Aegean provinces of Izmir, Aydin, Canakkale and Mugla within the last 24 hours.

A total of 111 illegal migrants were held in Izmir's Cesme and Urla towns for attempting to illegally cross into Greece.

Some 43 Syrian migrants, including 14 children, were among those attempting to illegally cross from Izmir's Cesme town on Thursday.

Five suspects were also arrested for alleged human smuggling in the Aegean's Izmir province.

In the Aydin province's Didim town, 36 people were held for attempting to illegally cross, 17 in Canakkale's Ayvacik town and 39 in Mugla's Bodrum town, the sources said.

In the northwestern Edirne province, 54 Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Somali migrants were held by coast guards.

Later on Thursday, 366 more people were caught in eastern Erzurum provincial center and Pasinler district after police were tipped off that undocumented migrants were roaming in groups.

The migrants had reportedly entered Turkey’s Agri province through Iran.

Also, four Syrian nationals were captured in southern Hatay’s Yayladagi district.

Turkey has been a main route for refugees trying to cross into Europe, especially since the beginning of the civil war in Syria in 2011.