Turkish security forces carried out several operations across the country where refugees are using the route to cross into Europe.
At least 187 refugees were held across Turkey on Wednesday, according to multiple security sources.
Some 50 refugees Afghan and Pakistani nationals who had entered Turkey illegally were held by gendarmerie forces in the Baskale district of the eastern Van province, a source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The coast guard also held 30 refugees on a rubber boat, including women and children, and one of Afghan origin on a private sailboat off the Aegean province of Izmir. The refugees who were attempting to illegally cross to Greece were mostly Palestinian, Syrian and Iraqi nationals.
Also in the Kesan district of the northwestern Edirne province, bordering Greece and Bulgaria, police held five refugees from Afghanistan and one migrant from Algeria during regular road patrols.
In another operation, 92 refugees from Afghanistan and eight migrants from Pakistan, were held in a truck by police in the eastern Erzincan province.
The refugees, who reportedly entered Turkey illegally from Iran were en route to Istanbul, the security sources said.
Police detained four suspects for alleged human smuggling.
All of them were later referred to provincial migration directorates.
Turkey has been the main route for refugees trying to cross into Europe, especially since 2011 when the Syrian civil war began.
Some 268,000 refugees were held in Turkey in 2018, according to the Interior Ministry.
The refugees were mostly from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Pakistan.
SOURCE: TRT World
