Turkish authorities have detained 36 Afghan migrants and one Iranian migrant, including 17 children, after intercepting an inflatable boat attempting to reach Greece from Turkey’s northwestern coast, the Turkish Coast Guard said.
The operation took place off the coast of Ayvacık in Çanakkale Province on Wednesday after the Coast Guard received reports of migrants aboard a rubber boat in the Aegean Sea.
According to Turkish authorities, Coast Guard teams intercepted the boat and detained all 37 migrants before transferring them ashore.
The Coast Guard also arrested two suspected migrant smugglers in connection with the operation. Authorities did not release further details about the suspects or their nationalities.
The Aegean Sea remains one of the main migration routes used by people attempting to reach Greece and the European Union from Turkey. Afghan nationals continue to make up one of the largest groups attempting the crossing, often using overcrowded and unsafe boats operated by smuggling networks.
Turkish authorities regularly carry out operations against irregular migration and human smuggling along the country’s western coastline.
According to official Turkish figures, police and the Coast Guard have detained nearly 92,000 undocumented migrants across Turkey since the beginning of the year. More than 24,000 of those detained were Afghan nationals.
The migrants detained in the latest operation will be processed under Turkey’s migration procedures, while the investigation into the suspected smugglers is ongoing.
