The Turkish authorities captured 4,407 irregular migrants trying to reach Europe last week, the Anadolu news agency reported on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st October, 2019) The Turkish authorities captured 4,407 irregular migrants trying to reach Europe last week, the Anadolu news agency reported on Monday.At least 1,916 migrants were caught by the local gendarmerie in the northwestern Edirne province, which borders Greece and Bulgaria. Meanwhile, the total number of the arrested reached 2,227 in the coastal provinces of Canakkale, Balikesir, Aydin, Izmir, Mugla and Antalya.
Separate operations in the northwestern Kirklareli and Tekirdag provinces resulted in the arrests of 114 people. The same number was apprehended by the southern Hatay province. The police and gendarmerie also caught 36 people in the country's central Kayseri province.
According to the agency, the migrants were mostly from African and middle Eastern countries.
In recent months, migration via Turkey has reached its highest levels since an EU-Turkey deal was sealed in 2016. According to the deal, Ankara promised to prevent migrants from reaching Europe through its territory in return for considerable financial assistance. The Greek government has been consistently outraged by what it perceives to be the lack of effort from Turkey to keep its side of the bargain.
