May 14, 2018•Update: May 14, 2018
By Erdal Turkoglu, Hanife Erdinc, Burak Akay and Salih Baran
CANAKKALE, Turkey
Security forces on Monday held a total of 345 undocumented migrants across Turkey, security sources said.
In the northwestern Canakkale province, coast guards rounded up 40 Afghans in the Ayvacik district, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The coast guards held the migrants, including women and children, after spotting a rubber raft heading to the Greek island of Lesbos, the source said.
In the southern Hatay province, 14 undocumented migrants, who were trying to illegally cross from Syria to Turkey, were apprehended by border units in the Yayladagi district.
The Syrians were sent to gendarmerie teams for further investigation, the sources said.
In the northwestern Edirne province, 291 people were held in the Ipsala and Uzunkopru districts, the sources added.
Among migrants held last year in Turkey, the majority came from Pakistan -- around 15,000 -- followed by Afghans at around 12,000. Syrians totalled about 10,000.
Since 2016, there has been a 60 percent increase in migrant flow in Turkey. The number was 31,000 in 2016.
