400 Illegal Migrants Detained Off Turkish Coast

Date: 13 March 2015 - 21:39

News ID: ۱۲۰۲۲

ANKARA (Dispatches) – Turkey has captured some 400 illegal migrants traveling on board a ship destined for Italy, showing that Ankara is determined to counter the rising flow of migrants travelling through the country to Europe.
Turkish officials on Thursday stopped the vessel which was sailing through the Dardanelles Straits, in Turkey's northwestern Canakkale Province.
The vessel had allegedly ignored warning shots. Security forces then boarded the ship and arrested all illegal travelers aboard.
Most of the migrants on the Do?an Kartal were Syrians, according to Canakkale Governor Ahmet Cinar.
"According to our initial information, around 400 illegal Syrian immigrants were on board," Cinar said, adding that the operation on the ship did not result in any clashes between the security forces and the migrants.
The governor denied the assault was meant for a special security purpose, saying, "Our goal was to prevent people on board from any damage."
The captured migrants have been transferred to Gallipoli, a port west of Dardanelles.
The migrants reportedly chanted "to Italy or death” when they faced the security forces. The crew of the ship which included three Syrian and two Turkish nationals were also detained.
Turkey has become a major transit hub for illegal migrants from Asia and the Middle East who embark on risky journeys through water to reach Europe.
According to the United Nations, more than 1,900 people were killed in 2014 in incidents related to migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.