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Rabat – A group of Moroccan migrants is among the 636 undocumented migrants currently being held in Turkey.
Security sources told Anadolu Agency that Turkish authorities were holding 565 Moroccan migrants in the western Edirne province near the Turkish-Greek border.
In addition to Moroccan citizens, the list of the migrants also includes citizens from Palestine, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Syria.
The news agency also reported that a minibus carrying 16 undocumented migrants from Morocco and Algeria crashed in Edrine.
The crash injured 11 people, including the driver.
Read Also: Official: Morocco’s Efforts Helps Reduce Irregular Migration’s Pressure on Spain
Like Morocco, Turkey has been one of the routes used by refugees, and undocumented migrants seeking to cross into Europe.
The Turkish Ministry of Interior said that nearly 268,000 undocumented migrants were arrested in 2018.
“The migrants were mostly Afghan, Syrian and Iraqi nationals,” said the news outlet.
In recent years, the Moroccan government has also been faced with significant numbers of undocumented migrants entering the country. Due to these high numbers, Morocco has collaborated with Spain to curb the flow of immigration.
The Spanish government has repeatedly supported Morocco, calling on the European Union to assist the North African country over migration.
Earlier in May, Spanish Minister of Defense Margarita Robles said that her country has “full confidence in the collaboration with Morocco.”
Spanish news outlet ABC quoted the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, saying that the number of irregular migrants in Spain dropped by 52% from April 2018 to April 2019.
ABC emphasized that the significant decrease is thanks to Morocco’s efforts.
