Turkey Detains 13 Afghan Refugees in Yozgat Amid Increased Deportation Efforts

Turkish police have detained 13 Afghan refugees in the city of Yozgat and transferred them to foreign nationals deportation centers. At the same time, in the city of Kars, four other refugees were arrested on charges of using forged residence documents and handed over to judicial authorities.

According to released information, following the entry of these individuals into Turkish territory, three others were also detained by the police and referred to judicial and legal institutions. No further details have been provided regarding how they entered the country.

Turkish police stated that the scope of operations to identify and detain migrants without legal documentation has been expanded to various cities, accelerating their transfer to deportation centers. These actions have mainly targeted Afghan migrants.

Turkey’s Directorate General of Migration Management statistics show that more than 1,500 Afghan refugees were detained in just the first two weeks of this year. The agency had previously announced that over 44,000 Afghan refugees were detained throughout 2025 in Turkey.

The increase in detention and deportation of refugees is taking place while many Afghan citizens, following the return of the Taliban to power, have been forced to leave the country due to security concerns and extensive social and economic restrictions; a situation that continues to drive migration waves.