At least 60 illegal migrants were held across Turkey, security sources said yesterday.

In the northwestern Tekirdağ province, eight irregular migrants were held by security forces. In the western province of Aydın, the Turkish Coast Guard held a group of 11 migrants in a rubber boat off the Menderes Delta. Separately, security forces arrested 41 irregular migrants during regular patrols in the northwestern Edirne province bordering Greece and Bulgaria.

All the migrants were referred to provincial migration authorities. Four people were also arrested on suspicion of human smuggling.

Turkey has been the main route for refugees trying to cross to Europe especially since 2011 when the Syrian civil war began. Some 265,000 irregular migrants were held in Turkey in 2018, according to the Interior Ministry.