Crackdown: Turkish Coast Guard Arrests 1300 Migrants And People Smugglers

Authorities in northwestern Turkey on Monday rounded up some 1,300 asylum seekers and migrants allegedly preparing to make their way into Greece.

The Turkish Coast Guard made another big rescue in October when it pulled more than 240 refugees out of the water after their boats capsized.

Among those detained were Syrian, Iraqi, Iranian and Afghani migrants as well as some suspected smugglers.

Lifejackets and smuggling boats used by refugees sit abandoned on a beach on the northeastern Greek island of Lesbos, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2015.

Germany and France threw their weight behind a quota system to help redistribute migrants across European Union members, but some of the smaller, less wealthy and more socially conservative countries in the bloc strongly rejected the idea.

The UN said the brief lull could be put down to poor weather, making the already perilous journey across the Mediterranean even more unsafe, accompanied with a Turkish crackdown on people traffickers.

At the same time, Turkey’s commitment to negotiations with the EU for membership of the union will resume.

The EU’s goal is to separate, process and accept Syrian refugees in Turkey in an orderly manner and avoid the disorganized type of crisis that has hit Europe this year.

She says there’s a “need to empower the Afghan security forces not only with respect to the security situation, but also with regard to refugee movements and illegal migration”.

Greek Migration Minister Yannis Mouzalas said the government was trying to persuade the estimated 1,500 migrants stuck at the border to come to Athens and apply for asylum in Greece, saying there was accommodation available for them.

Another concern is that Turkey will try to restrict the flow of people entering the country, since it is unable to let out the millions it has already in the country.

Referring to the people stranded on the Greek border with Macedonia, Tidey said: “They are living in extremely poor conditions with inadequate shelter, people are sleeping sometimes 30 to 40 inside of a tent to keep warm”.