Turkey will not become Europe's 'refugee warehouse', said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
ADVERTISEMENTFearing a new refugee crisis, Turkey is reinforcing its border with Iran to stop a potential influx of Afghans fleeing Taliban rule.
Some refugees who fled weeks and months ago have already started to show up at the rugged border area.
Now, three-metre-high concrete slabs are being installed to stop them.
According to Turkish authorities, security forces have prevented the passage of over 69 thousand irregular migrants and arrested 904 suspects accused of being human traffickers.
Local media report a 155-kilometre stretch of a planned 241-kilometre wall has already been erected at the border.
Turkey has been a key transit point for asylum seekers heading to Europe to flee war and persecution.
We won’t become Europe’s 'refugee warehouse', says Erdogan
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government had brushed off warnings and criticism from opposition parties about an increase in the number of migrants from Afghanistan.
This week, he admitted that Turkey faces a new refugee wave from Afghanistan and said his cabinet would work with Pakistan to try and bring stability to the war-ravaged country.
Erdogan also called on European nations on Thursday to shoulder the responsibility for Afghans fleeing the Taliban and warned that his country won’t become Europe’s “refugee warehouse.”