Turkey Fires On Cargo Ship Carrying Hundreds of Syrian Refugees

ISTANBUL, March 13 (Reuters) – Turkish coastguards discovered greater than 300 refugees, largely Syrians, after they seized a cargo ship that they had opened fired on for failing to obey an order to cease off Turkey’s western coast, the regional governor mentioned on Friday.

Refugee trafficking within the seas round Turkey is a significant drawback. Turkey itself has saved its borders open to refugees because the begin of Syria’s civil conflict 4 years in the past, and round 2 million individuals have fled throughout the frontier.

Police arrested three crew and located the 337 immigrants after seizing the 59-meter-long vessel late on Thursday because it handed by the Dardanelles strait.

The passengers had been taken to a close-by sports activities corridor for questioning and well being checks, the native governor’s workplace mentioned.

Canakkale Governor Ahmet Cinar instructed reporters the coastguards had been solely capable of cease the ship by opening fireplace on the engine room and locking the rudder.

Nobody was injured throughout the operation and the ship was docked on the Gelibolu port, Turkish media mentioned. (Additional reporting by Isla Binnie in Rome; Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Jonny Hogg and Alison Williams)