Turkey ‘deported 3,719 foreign fighters since 2011’

Turkey ‘deported 3,719 foreign fighters since 2011’

ANKARA

REUTERS photo

The number of foreign fighters deported by Turkey since 2011 has increased to 3,719, senior Turkish officials have said, noting that 51,976 terror suspects have been banned from entering the country in the last five years.

According to information provided by senior Turkish officials, foreign terrorist fighters added to Turkey’s no-entry list based on intelligence provided by foreign governments are as follows: 

2011 – 283 fighters

2012 – 786 fighters

2013 – 2,066 fighters

2014 – 4,822 fighters 

2015 – 27,704 fighters 

2016 – 16,315 fighters (first nine months)

Officials said intelligence sharing with Turkey was limited until late 2014 despite calls for closer cooperation to stop the flow of foreign terrorist fighters to Syria. 

“U.N. Security Council Resolution 2178, which was adopted in September 2014, marked a turning point in efforts to prevent foreign fighters from crossing national borders,” an official said. 

As of September 2016, 51,976 terror suspects have been banned from entering Turkey.

Likewise, there has also been a profound increase in the number of foreign terrorist fighters deported by Turkey over the years: 

2011 – 132

2012 – 230

2013 – 192

2014 – 526

2015 – 1,785

2016 – 854 (first nine months)