Türkiye deports 139 Afghan migrants

By Orhan Onur Gemici

ANKARA (AA) - A total of 139 Afghan migrants, who entered Türkiye illegally, were deported on Saturday, said the head of Türkiye’s Migration Management Directorate.

As part of the work carried out according to the Irregular Migration Strategy Document and the National Action Plan, migrants, who do not have valid documents to reside legally in Türkiye, are being sent to their home countries by charter flights.

After going through all necessary procedures, including health checks and security-related steps, the migrants were deported to Afghanistan, Savas Unlu told reporters in the capital Ankara.

Stressing that Türkiye arranged nine charter flights in 2023, Unlu said: "We have deported 8,571 irregular migrants from our country so far this year. This does not include these 139 migrants."

Unlu added that as a result of Türkiye's efforts to combat irregular migration, the number of irregular migrants arriving at the country's borders for illegal entry in 2022 decreased by 38% compared to 2021.

"Since 2016, 2.7 million irregular migrants have been prevented from entering our country illegally," he said.

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