MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A Turkish national engaged in trafficking Islamic State (IS) militants across the border with Syria has been accused of forcing Syrian refugees into prostitution, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported Tuesday.
The Turkish authorities accused Ahmet Yumusak, 29, of the sexual exploitation of women fleeing Syria. He was charged on the grounds of phone calls in which he allegedly discussed the prices for the refugees with his clients.
The Turkish-Syrian border has become the preferred transit route for militants willing to join the IS and other militant groups.
Turkey banned the crossing of its border with Syria for anyone except Syrian citizens last summer. But foreigners seeking to join radical Islamists reportedly often use fake Syrian documents to pass Turkish border checkpoints.
According to UN estimates, Turkey hosts over 1.6 million Syrians who have fled the civil war, that has killed over 200,000 people since 2011.
