Wednesday September 5, 2018
At least 56 illegal migrants are being held in the Aegean province of Aydın and the southwestern province of Muğla.
The Turkish Coast Guard identified a group of people sailing in a rubber boat yesterday off the coast of Kuşadası district.
Turkish police and Coast Guard teams carried out a joint operation to stop 14 Iraqi nationals, 13 Afghans and six Syrians. All of the migrants were referred to the provincial migration office.
In Datça, a district of Muğla, 23 illegal migrants were held in Bükcez Bay as they were about to board a boat to the Greek island of Kos.
They were brought to the area by a white van. Security forces also detained four Turks accused of smuggling the migrants that were identified as Syrian, Palestinian and Somali nationals.
Turkey has been a main route for irregular migrants trying to cross into Europe, especially since 2011, when the Syrian civil war began.