Turkish security forces have stepped up security measures at the Turkish-Iranian border, Turkey’s semi-official Anadolu news agency reported Thursday.
Backed by dozens of armored vehicles, drones, thermal imaging and night vision cameras, Turkish security forces are on a 24-hour watch to stop illegal immigrants from entering the country, curb smuggling and prevent PKK militants from infiltrating the country.
Huseyin Ediz Tercanoglu, head of the second operations division of the Special Operations Division of the Turkish Security Service, said the technical tools helped prevent illegal immigrants from sneaking into the country at night.
Fearing the illegal entry of large numbers of Afghans into Turkey via Iran, Turkey recently raised security measures along the Turkish-Iranian border to the highest level, sent security forces to strengthen border controls and neared completion of a wall along the border.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said European countries should shoulder the responsibility of accepting Afghan refugees, “Turkey has no obligation or responsibility to become a refugee warehouse in Europe.”
