Turkey: Over 150 irregular migrants held across country

EDIRNE, Turkey

Over 150 irregular migrants were held across Turkey on Thursday.

In the western Edirne province, 117 migrants trying to illegally cross the border were held, according to security sources.

The migrants were Algerian, Moroccan, Palestinian, Syrian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

Separately, in the central Kayseri province, police held 36 Afghan and Pakistani nationals who were traveling in a passenger bus.

Four suspects were arrested in the incident, and two of them remanded in custody for alleged human smuggling, the sources added.

Turkey has been the main route for refugees trying to cross to Europe, especially since the beginning of the civil war in Syria.

Some 268,000 irregular migrants were held in Turkey in 2018, according to the Interior Ministry.

* Muzahim Zahid Tuzun and Ramazan Kaya contributed to the story from Kayseri.