Turkey: 190,000 people intercepted at sea since 2020

In 2024 alone, a total of 38,411 migrants have been intercepted at sea by Turkish authorities so far this year, according to the Anadolu Agency (AA). Another 296 people suspected of organizing migrant smuggling have been detained by the coast guard, while the bodies of 40 migrants have been retrieved in search and rescue missions.

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said last month that the government was paying close attention to securing its borders on land and at sea and that it had spent 950 million dollars since January, with a further 136 million dollars in the pipeline for the remainder of the year.

Also read: Turkish coast guard intercepts scores of migrants in a single day

Hundreds of arrests

According to a report published in Daily Sabah, the number of migrants intercepted by Turkish authorities has been rising steadily over the past five years.

In 2020, the coast guard intercepted 20,380 migrants at sea while the following year, this number had risen to 23,676 cases. In 2022, there were 49,518 interceptions while in 2023, this number had risen to 56,954 cases.

Similarly, the number of smugglers arrested with the help of the coast guard also generally increased in recent years: In 2020, only 53 people accused of facilitating irregular journeys were taken into custody. This number had more than doubled to 113 arrests in 2021, and then to 293 arrests in 2022.

In 2023, however, there were fewer smugglers intercepted by the coast guard, with a total of 169 instances, followed by the highest number to date — 296 arrests — taking place to date in 2024.

Also read: Migrants reach Greek islands from North Africa, Turkish coast

Working closely with the EU

In 2016, Turkey struck a deal with the European Union to hold migrants and refugees back from trying to reach Europe. The agreement was intended to enable the EU to get a better grip on managing the number of people who still manage to reach the bloc using irregular means. In exchange for keeping migrants and refugees contained, the EU paid 9 billion euros to the Turkish government.

Due to its overall success, a renewal of the deal, spearheaded by the Greek and Turkish governments, is now also under discussion, although there also are critical voices against the agreement.

Turkey hosts more than 4 million refugees, making it the country with the highest refugee population in the world. In addition to these millions of refugees, who have a right to claim protection, there are also tens of thousands of economic migrants without a right to remain in the country, which is becoming a growing political issue.

Deportation center in Ethiopia

In order to manage the return of migrants who do not have a right to remain in Turkey, the government recently set up a migrant deportation center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, according to the Daily Sabah.

Under this plan, rejected migrants from Africa will be flown out to Addis Ababa, from where they will be distributed to other destinations on the continent.

Economic migrants from Africa make up the majority of people without a right to stay in Turkey, the paper reports. This is, however, in addition to Syrian and Afghan nationals, who are said to have forfeited their asylum right, for example by failing to register their residence or by getting involved in criminal activities.

Also read: Is any part of Syria safe for deportations?

In 2023, Turkey deported just shy of 23,000 migrants back to their home countries in Africa. These include people from Angola, Benin, Djibouti, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ivory Coast, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, South Sudan, Cameroon, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe.