EDIRNE/IZMIR, Turkey
A total of 455 undocumented migrants were held across Turkey on Tuesday, according to security sources.
In the northwestern province of Edirne, 238 migrants were rounded up in the Ipsala, Meric, Havsa and Uzunkopru districts, said coast guard sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The migrants were from Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Palestine and Algeria.
Separately, the coast guard rounded up 46 migrants traveling in a boat off the Aegean Izmir province's Dikili district, the sources said.
In Izmir's Urla district, another 44 undocumented migrants were held.
In the northwestern port city of Canakkale, 38 in a sinking rubber boat were rescued by the coast guard.
In the western Aydin province, the coast guard found 61 migrants, including 28 children, in a rubber boat off the Kusadasi district.
In southern Hatay’s Yayladag district, some 50 Syrian nationals trying to illegally cross from Syria into Turkey were held.
Turkey has been a main route for refugees trying to cross into Europe, especially since 2011 when the Syrian civil war began.
Among the migrants held in 2017 in Turkey, the majority came from Pakistan -- around 15,000 -- followed by Afghans at around 12,000. Syrians totaled about 10,000. There has been a 60 percent increase in migrant flow since 2016. The number was 31,000 in 2016.
