Turkish Coast Guard Detains Around 50 Afghan Refugees

Turkish media reported that the country's coast guard has arrested 49 Afghan refugees without residence documents in Canakkale province. According to Turkish media reports, these asylum seekers were arrested when they wanted to leave Türkiye "illegally".

Türkiye's Anadolu news agency reported on Thursday, November 14, that 13 children were among those arrested.

According to the reports, the arrest operation of these Afghan refugees was carried out on the shores of Ayvacik city, Canakkale province of Türkiye, and all the refugees along with the children were transferred to the extradition centre for foreign nationals.

Turkish police announced that their joint operation to identify, arrest and deport asylum seekers without residence documents continues throughout the country.

Recent findings by the media, including Politico and Der Spiegel, show that Afghan and Syrian refugees are abused in Turkish deportation centres.

The Turkish government has denied allegations of abuse in detention centres.

Türkiye is one of the main migration routes to Europe for immigrants. After the Taliban came to power in August 2021, thousands of people have entered Türkiye, hoping to reach Europe by following the difficult migration routes from Iran. A number of asylum seekers have lost their lives on this route.