Turkey reinforces border security amid irregular migrant flow

ANKARA

Turkey has been reinforcing border security amid an increased risk of irregular migrant inflow from countries including Afghanistan, the interior minister said on Wednesday.

Having successfully managed irregular migration from Syria and others parts of Middle East, Turkey has been preparing for various scenarios, Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter.

He was responding to Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), who recently claimed that the government is unable to control the migrant flow to Turkey, particularly from the Turkish-Iranian border.

Soylu outlined the measures the government has taken to reinforce border security such as building a 152 kilometer (94.5 miles) long wall on the Turkish-Iranian border, while work is underway for another 85 kilometers (53 miles).

He said Turkey’s 740 kilometer (460 miles) long eastern border will be watched by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) from the sky, and electro-optic towers and thermal night cameras on the ground.

Additional 500 village guards and 82 armored vehicles were also deployed to the border to boost security, he explained.

As result of these measures, he said, Turkey prevented illegal entrance of over 505,000 people in 2020, and over 253,000 this year so far.

*Writing by Ahmet Gencturk