A total of 54 German citizens have been denied entry into Turkey so far this year, German media reported yesterday. The number of the German nationals denied entry in 2017 was 95.

According to Deutsche Welle Turkish, the number of individuals denied entry was revealed through a parliamentary question from the Left Party (Die Linke), which was responded to by State Minister Michael Roth.

However, no further explanations were made on the issue, including the profiles of the rejected German citizens.

In order to prevent the entry of foreign terrorist fighters, Ankara has improved its border security and made it harder to enter the country in recent years. In January, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey has deported 5,600 foreign fighters since 2011, and 54,000 were banned from entering Turkey. The country's efforts against Daesh made it a primary target for the terrorist group, which has carried out numerous gun and bomb attacks targeting security forces and civilians. This includes the country's deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 102 people and wounded 400 others in a twin suicide bombing at a peace rally in Ankara on Oct. 10, 2015.

In addition to its own efforts, Ankara has also repeatedly called for better cooperation with thev security services of European countries to stop the flow, while it was revealed that several suspects involved in Daesh attacks across Europe were found to be deported by Turkey earlier. For instance, Ibrahim el-Bakraoui, one of the bombers involved in the 2016 Brussels bombings, was deported by Turkey in 2015, and Belgium had been warned about the potential threat he posed.