Security forces have arrested 417 terrorist members trying to cross the border this year as Türkiye has been stepping up its border security with guards watching the frontier 24/7.
“In the last week, 474 people trying to cross illegally have been caught at our borders, which are protected by the most intense measures of our republican history and a multilayered security system,” the Defense Ministry’s press representative, Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk, told reporters in the capital Ankara. Thirty-seven were terrorist members, of which 30 were the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) members.
“Consequently, during the year, the number of people caught while trying to cross our borders illegally increased to 5,756, and a total of 417 terrorist organization members, of whom 285 were FETÖ members, were handed over to law enforcement,” he added.
Furthermore, 145,697 were prevented before crossing the border.
“In addition, in the operations carried out since the beginning of the year, a total of 4,857 kilograms of drugs and 1,911 pills were seized, 54 kilograms of which were seized in the last week,” Aktürk said.
Commenting on videos circulating on social media showing irregular migrants illegally crossing the border, Aktürk said that they did not reflect reality but were used to initiate polemics on Turkish border security.
“These are stock footage used for political considerations, personal ambitions, unrealistic, exaggerated, misleading discourses, shot in different places and used for different purposes. Most of these images are taken and distributed by migrant smugglers for advertising purposes.”
On the latest developments regarding Ankara’s fight against terrorism, Aktürk pointed out that 44 terrorists were eliminated within the last week as part of Türkiye’s strategy to erase terrorism at its roots.
Thus, the number of terrorists eliminated has reached 1,146 this year and 38,489 since July 24, 2015.
As Türkiye continues efforts to establish peace and stability in neighboring Syria to facilitate the safe return of Syrian refugees, terrorists are fighting actively in the region.
“Since the beginning of this year, 96 harassment and attacks have been carried out by the terrorist organization in our operation areas, three of which were in the last week. With the immediate intervention of our heroic commandos, 840 terrorists were eliminated, 31 of them again in the last week,” he continued.
Since 2016, Ankara launched a trio of successful counterterrorism operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
Since the launch of the operations, Türkiye has been supporting every aspect of life in the region, from health to education, security to agriculture. In this respect, efforts to clear bombs and improvised explosive devices were launched and administration duties were given to local councils.
Moreover, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) regularly conduct cross-border operations in northern Iraq. In this region, PKK terrorists have hideouts and bases from where they carry out attacks in Türkiye.
Türkiye’s military involvement in northern Iraq dates back over two decades. Apart from its operations against the PKK is the war against the Daesh terrorist group, which controlled much of the area, in 2014 and 2015, when Ankara was an ally in the U.S.-led anti-Daesh campaign.
"Within this scope, 600 terrorists have been eliminated as part of the Claw-Key operation so far. At the same time, 667,547 pieces of ammunition were seized, as well as 2,192 mines and improvised explosive devices, and 640 hideouts were eliminated,” Aktürk conveyed.
