Turkey: Over 1,000 irregular migrants held in a week

By Aykut Karadag

ANKARA

At least 1,012 irregular migrants were held across Turkey over the last week, Turkish Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

In a statement, the ministry said that the country’s coast guards held a total of 1,012 irregular migrants during operations conducted between Oct. 21 and Nov. 2.

They also recovered the body of one irregular migrant on the Aegean Sea, the ministry said.

Turkey has been the main route for irregular migrants trying to cross into Europe, especially since 2011 when the Syrian civil war began.