RASC News Agency: According to Turkish media reports, the coastal guard of the country has recently detained 42 Afghanistani asylum seekers, continuing their detention of Afghanistani refugees from the city of Izmir. Turkish media outlets reported on Tuesday, Feb 20, that more than 40 Afghanistani asylum seekers, including 15 children, have been detained in Izmir.
According to reports from Turkish media, coastal guard command teams detained a group of “illegal” asylum seekers who were aboard a plastic boat in the Dikili area of Izmir after identification. As per Turkish media reports, the detained illegal asylum seekers have been transferred to the Foreigners’ Repatriation Center in Izmir. Statistics from the Turkish Ministry of Interior indicate that during the year 2023, 68,687 Afghanistani asylum seekers were detained by the security forces of this country, and most of them have been deported.
Afghanistani refugees, especially, use Turkey as a conduit to reach European countries; however, Turkey has intensified its detention and deportation of Afghanistani asylum seekers lately. It is noteworthy that following the Taliban’s takeover of the country, the level of migration to neighboring and regional countries, as well as to European countries from there, has increased unprecedentedly.
