January 06, 2018•Update: January 08, 2018
By Mustafa Yildirim
ANKARA, Turkey
Turkish security forces on Saturday held at least 36 undocumented migrants, according to a security source.
In Dikili in the Aegean Izmir province, the gendarmerie held 36 people, including 33 Syrians and three Cameroonians, trying to get to Greece illegally by boat, said the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The Syrians were referred to provincial migration authorities, while the Cameroonians were taken to Izmir's Harmandali detention center for possible deportation to their home country.
The migrants said they had been brought from Izmir in a light commercial vehicle to illegally go to the nearby Greek island of Lesbos, but the driver fled, leaving the migrants in Dikili, the source added.
Turkey has been the main route for migrants trying to cross into Europe, especially since the beginning of the civil war in Syria.
