UPDATE 2 - 97 irregular migrants of different nationalities held across Turkey

UPDATES WITH MORE FOREIGN NATIONALS HELD; REVISES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE

By Mustafa Gungor, Emrah Gokmen and Suleyman Coskun Bozyel

ISTANBUL / IZMIR/ TEKIRDAG, Turkey (AA) - A total of 97 foreign nationals who illegally entered Turkey were held in the northwestern Istanbul and Tekirdag provinces, as well as in the Aegean Izmir province, security sources said Wednesday.

Gendarmerie teams found that in Izmir’s Seferihisar district, a number of foreign nationals entered the country illegally, including eight from Somalia, nine from Republic of Congo, three from Afghanistan, five from Djibouti, and one each from Yemen, Ethiopia, and Senegal.

In Urla, Izmir, 23 foreign nationals in two vehicles tried to enter the country illegally. The drivers of the vehicles were arrested on suspicion of human smuggling.

Separately, another 35 foreign nationals were held in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul.

Furthermore, a total of 11 foreign nationals, including eight Palestinians and three Syrians, were held in northwestern Tekirdag province. They were taken to local migration offices.

The driver of the vehicle, who is an Iraqi national and identified only by the initials M.A., was also arrested.

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.

Turkey, which already hosts 4 million refugees – more than any country in the world – is taking new security measures to prevent a fresh influx of migrants.

* Writing by Merve Berker in Ankara