A wave of undocumented migrants from Afghanistan hit Turkey in the recent months, Turkish interior minister said on Wednesday.
"We have been facing in the recent months a wave of migrants especially from Afghanistan," Süleyman Soylu said, addressing immigration officials in Turkey's southern province of Adana.
"Among the illegal migrants in 2018, 29,899 people are from Afghan origin. The total number of illegal Afghan migrants in 2017 was 45,259 people," Soylu added.
The interior minister said that Turkey arrested 4,641 migrant smugglers in 2017 while this number is 1,328 at the first four months of this year.
Turkey currently hosts 3.5 million Syrian refugees, more than any other country in the world. It has been the main route for refugees trying to cross into Europe, especially since the beginning of the civil war in Syria.
