Erdogan: Turkey blocks foreign fighters when warned

Turkey will block and arrest foreign fighters from trying to enter Syria and Iraq if it is informed beforehand, the country’s president said yesterday.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “If we are informed earlier, we will certainly block them [foreign fighters] and send them back.”

Turkish foreign minister said last week that more than 12,500 people have been stopped from entering Turkey, and that Ankara deported more than 1,150 people.

“This means Turkey is doing its part and will continue to do so,” Erdogan said.

Turkey has been said to be the country through which foreign fighters enter Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State (ISIS). Certain western media outlets have blamed Ankara for not doing enough to prevent the flow of these foreigners into Syria.