TURKEY ROUNDS UP 3,000 REFUGEES

Ankara, 24 Safar 1437/6 December 2015(MINA) – Turkish authorities have rounded up in the past four days nearly 3,000 refugees planning to cross the Aegean Sea to EU member Greece, local media said Friday.

The detentions were part of a major operation that was launched on Monday, a day after Turkey and the European Union reached a deal to stem the flow of refugees into Europe, World Bulletin quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

The Turkish coastguard apprehended a total of 2,933 refugees, mainly from Syria and Iraq, as they were preparing to make their way to the Greek island of Lesbos from the northwestern town of Ayvacik in Canakkale province.

Thirty-five suspected smugglers were also detained while hundreds of refugee boats were seized, it added.

The refugees will be sent to a detention centre where some could face deportation without giving details.

At a summit in Brussels, the European Union vowed to provide three billion euros ($3.2 billion) in cash as well as political concessions to Ankara in return for its cooperation in tackling Europe’s worst refugee crisis since World War II.

Turkey hosts more than two million refugees from the Syrian conflict and is the main launching point for refugees coming to Europe, via Greece.

More than 886,000 refugees have arrived in Europe by sea so far this year, according to the latest UN figures.

Of those, nearly 600 people have died using the eastern Mediterranean route, according to the International Organization for Migration. (T/P006/R04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)