Fearing a new refugee crisis, Turkey strengthens borders

Описание: (22 Aug 2021) Fearing a new refugee crisis, Turkey is continuing to reinforce its borders with Iran to stop a potential influx of Afghans fleeing Taliban rule.
Afghans who left their country weeks and months ago have started to show up at the rugged border area after a long trek across Iran.
Associated Press journalists and other media were given access on Saturday to the border lines at the Caldiran district in Van province where a new concrete wall is being built.
Footage showed heavy fortifications present alongside the wall, including armored trucks and a high presence of military and police special forces personnel.
Minesweepers scanned the area before military squads set out to patrol the area and ditches were excavated along some locations of the border.
An armed forces major, who spoke anonymously as per protocol, said that the planned 65-kilometer (40 miles) wall starts near Hangedik and will stretch to the south.
Turkish attack helicopters and other military and security forces aerial presence were also seen patrolling the skies.
Van Goveror Mehmet Emin Bilmez told the Associated Press that military, security forces and even local militias employed by the government as a safeguard against militant activities, were all in "harmony and accord" to keep the border impassable.
Bilmez added thermal cameras and drones were also being used to provide a steady flow of information.
Security forces patrolled sections where they were within shouting distance to Iranian border guards and precincts.
Huseyin Ediz Tercanoglu, 2nd Branch Chief of the Police Special Operations Department, confirmed they often see migrants approaching the border but they turn back as soon as they see the armed presence.
Associated Press journalists were also invited to observe a night-time police raid on a site where migrants had been sheltering.
Many of the migrants had worn and tattered clothing after their long journey.
One man struggled to walk as he and others were taken to a police bus to be escorted to deportation centers.
Police reported that a total of 26 people were arrested in the raid, including 20 Afghan migrants, five Pakistani migrants and one suspected human smuggler.

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