VANCOUVER, CANADA – Turkish security forces detained 29 Afghan asylum seekers in the Tekirdağ province of the country.
According to Anatolia News Agency, the Turkish gendarmerie detained these asylum seekers in the Kavacik area of the Saray district in Tekirdağ province. The individuals have been transferred to the Immigration Directorate of Tekirdağ.
This comes 12 days after 39 Afghan asylum seekers were also detained in the Düzce province of Turkey.
Anatolia reported that these individuals were detained in Chilimli district of Duzce province. The asylum seekers were hidden inside a vehicle among boxes of tissue paper.
According to the Anatolia report, these individuals would be transferred to the Immigration Directorate of the Duzce province after completing the legal procedures.
The vehicle’s drivers is arrested on charges of human trafficking.
The detention of Afghan asylum seekers in the wake of Türkiye’s decision to wound up and deport refugees from Afghanistan. It happens that 18 other Afghans were also detained by Turkish security forces in the Bitlis province of Turkey in the past months.
With the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan, thousands of citizens are leaving the country for Iran and Turkey, using both legal and illegal routes.
Türkiye is not the only country detaining, and deporting Afghan asylum seekers. Pakistan and Iran have also been expelling millions of Afghan refugees since November 2023.
