MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkish authorities detained 39 Syrian refugees who were crossing the country en route to Greece, local media reported Friday.
The Gendarmerie Command of Turkey's Canakkale province said the refugees were captured after their boats hit the rocks in the Aegean Sea, according to the Anadolu news agency.
Two Turkish and five Ukrainian nationals were also detained on suspicion of organizing the illegal trip, the outlet said.
Thousands of Syrians have left their homes and travelled overseas since the war in Syria started in 2011. The International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) estimates that as of of July 7, a total of 101,417 refugees from Africa and the Middle East have tried to cross into Europe by sea in 2017.
