After getting a tip-off, Turkish Coast Guard teams found 260 irregular migrants in two boats off the Çeşme and Urla districts in the western province of Izmir.

5 suspected human smugglers were also arrested in the operations, officials said.

Historically, Turkey has been a country of origin, transit, and destination for migrants and was a crossroads between Europe and Asia.

Recent regional events have contributed to Turkey increasingly becoming a major destination and transit country for those fleeing conflict, poverty, and disasters.

Turkey hosts one of the largest migrant and refugee populations in the world with 4 million refugees and asylum-seekers in the country, including over 3.7 million Syrians under temporary protection and over 330,000 international protection status holders and asylum-seekers of other nationalities.

According to the official reports, the Turkish coast guard intercepted 21473 irregular migrants in 2021, up from 19368 in 2020. (ILKHA)