Turkey rounds up 1,300 migrants planning to cross to Greece

Turkish authorities rounded up some 1,300 migrants that they said were planning to sail to Greece from hideouts near secluded Aegean beaches and forests, hours after striking a deal with the EU on stemming refugee flows.

Turkish gendarmes apprehended hundreds of Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians and Afghans and three human traffickers, near the town of Ayvacik in Canakkale province, coastguard officials told Reuters.

In the largest operation of its kind in recent months, the migrants were sent to a repatriation centre, where some could face deportation, the officials said.