Over 2,200 Irregular Migrants Detained Across Turkey Over Past Week - Reports

Over 2,200 Irregular Migrants Detained Across Turkey Over Past Week - Reports

At least 2,212 irregular migrants were detained over the past week by Turkish police and gendarmerie in various parts of the country, local media reported on Monday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2019) At least 2,212 irregular migrants were detained over the past week by Turkish police and gendarmerie in various parts of the country, local media reported on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the Istanbul government issued a statement ordering all unregistered Syrian refugees without local residence permits to leave the province by August 20 and threatening to forcibly deport them in case of non-compliance.

The largest numbers of irregular migrants were detained in eastern provinces of Van and Erzurum, as well as in northern and coastal provinces bordering Greece and Bulgaria, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency from security sources.

The agency said that many of the detained migrants came to Turkey through illegal means and plotted further passage to the European Union.

Irregular migrants, including those from Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Senegal, Central Africa, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Somalia, Libya and Palestine, were either taken to hospitals for medical care or transferred to local migration offices, the report added.

Turkey hosts approximately 3.7 million migrants and refugees, the most of any country in the world, according to the International Organization for Migration. Although 20 tent camps and container towns with essential infrastructure, such as schools and medical facilities, have been built in Turkey specifically to accommodate refugees, most of these people prefer not to settle in them and instead move further into other parts of the country. Migrants also deliberately avoid contact with law and immigration enforcement agencies since Turkey is only a gateway to Europe for many.