In wake of EU deal, Turkey detains 1,300 migrants in sweep

Turkish authorities rounded up some 1,300 refugees on Monday that they said were planning to sail to Greece from hideouts near secluded Aegean beaches and forests, hours after striking a deal with the European Union on stemming refugee flows. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Sunday struck a deal with EU leaders to prevent refugees from traveling to Europe in return for 3 billion euros (dollars) in cash, a deal on visas and renewed talks on joining the 28-nation bloc.

I wish to say to you that ‘yes, the number of the migrants will decline,’ but we cannot say this because we don’t know what will be going on in Syria.

Prime Minister Davutoglu

In the largest operation of its kind in recent months, the migrants were sent to a repatriation center where some could face deportation, the officials said. Hundreds of thousands of refugees, many from Syria, have in the last month sought to escape to the European Union from the Turkish coast. The region around the resort town of Ayvacik has become a hub for refugees seeking to go to EU member Greece. The Greek island of Lesbos are just a few kilometres to the south but refugees face a perilous crossing in overcrowded, open boats.

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