Over 900 boat migrants captured in August so far

IZMIR, Turkey

Turkish Coast Guard teams off the country’s western coast so far this August have captured over 900 illegal migrants, including women and children, trying to get to European countries, security sources said Saturday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking with the media, the officials told Anadolu Agency that 918 illegal migrants were captured off Turkey’s western coast in Coast Guard operations to halt human trafficking in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.

The Coast Guard captured 538 illegal migrants in June and 881 in July.

The migrants’ “journey of hope” traffic has so far risen 70 percent in August over June.

According to the International Organization for Migration, a total of 467 refugees died at sea between Jan. 1, 2016 and March 17, 2016, out of which 362 died along the eastern Mediterranean route, while 105 others perished along the central and western Mediterranean route.