Turkey Intercepts Nearly 250 Illegal Migrants En Route To Europe - Reports

Turkey Intercepts Nearly 250 Illegal Migrants En Route to Europe - Reports

The Turkish coast guard has rounded up 247 undocumented migrants as they attempted to cross over to Greece from Turkey's northwest coast, Turkish media reported on Wednesday, citing security sources

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th December, 2019) The Turkish coast guard has rounded up 247 undocumented migrants as they attempted to cross over to Greece from Turkey's northwest coast, Turkish media reported on Wednesday, citing security sources.

The detained migrants are Afghan, Syrian, Congolese, Iraqi, Malian, and Senegalese nationals, the Anadolu news agency said, citing unnamed security sources. According to the report, the migrants planned passage to Greece from the Buruncu, Ahmetcealti, Babakale and Sivrice coasts in the Canakkale province.

Upon apprehension, they underwent medical checks and were directed to the provincial refugee center for further processing, the report added.

Turkey conducts such operations regularly, and the number of intercepted irregular migrants is in the dozens of thousands. Despite a high record of fatalities during the journey as a result of traveling aboard unsafe boats, the irregular migration route across the Mediterranean to Europe remains extremely popular among people from the middle East and Africa who flee home to seek a better life.

In 2016, Turkey signed a 6 billion euro ($6.6 million) deal with the European Union to curb the Europe-bound migrant flow in its territory and turn them back. However, the migrant influx continued and especially hit the Greek islands, where reception facilities are now well beyond their capacity.