Turkey Detains Dozens Of Afghan Migrants Amid Crackdown

The individuals were apprehended for entering the country“illegally” without documentation and were subsequently transferred to deportation centers in the Eskisehir province.

Turkish authorities stated that the reason for the detention of these Afghan refugees was their lack of legal residency documents. In another incident, 29 Afghan refugees were arrested after being found without residency permits in a truck in Sivas. Furthermore, 12 individuals were arrested for human trafficking and were referred to Turkish courts for prosecution.

This follows a notable surge in the nationwide operations targeting the arrest and deportation of Afghan migrants across Turkey, Pakistan, and Iran over recent weeks. On Saturday, February 10th, Turkish media also reported the arrest and deportation of 24 Afghan refugees from the cities of Tokat and Amasya.

According to recent statistics from the Turkish Statistical Institute, Afghan citizens are now the second-largest foreign population in the country, following Iraqis, with their numbers reaching 139,251. Previously, the Turkish Ministry of Interior had announced that over the past five years, more than one million“illegal” migrants have been arrested, with 175,786 arrests recorded in 2024 alone.

Turkey's large-scale operations against the deportation of Afghan refugees have intensified, with authorities consistently emphasizing their commitment to returning these migrants to their home country. Official statistics indicate that over 300,000 Afghan migrants currently reside in Turkey, with many facing significant challenges, including detention, residency restrictions, and forced deportations.

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