UPDATE - 86 irregular migrants of different ethnicities held across Turkey

UPDATES WITH MORE FOREIGN NATIONALS HELD, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, AND LEDE

By Mustafa Gungor and Emrah Gokmen

ISTANBUL / IZMIR, Turkey (AA) – A total of 86 foreign nationals who have illegally entered Turkey were held in the metropolis of Istanbul and 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.

All the foreign nationals were taken to local migration offices.

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