Turkey’s Coast Guard has announced the detention of 32 undocumented Afghan migrants during a security operation in the Ezine district of Çanakkale Province in northwestern Turkey.
According to Turkish authorities, the operation was carried out on Tuesday and seven children were among those detained.
Officials said the migrants were transferred to the migrant removal centre in Ayvacık after the completion of legal procedures.
Turkey has significantly strengthened security measures along its western borders in recent years and regularly reports the detention of migrants attempting to reach European countries through irregular migration routes.
According to data released by Turkey’s Directorate General of Migration Management, more than 20,000 Afghan nationals without legal residency documents have been detained across the country since the beginning of the year. Turkish authorities have not released figures on how many of those detained have subsequently been deported to Afghanistan.
Afghans continue to represent one of the largest groups of irregular migrants intercepted in Turkey, with many attempting to use the country as a transit route to Europe despite increasing border enforcement and migration controls.
