World News for Students of English

03-08-2021 07:00

Turkey has built a new concrete border wall in an effort to stop an influx of people from Afghanistan from crossing into the country via Iran.

The massive structure in the eastern part of the country stretches 65 kilometers, and it comes as the number of Afghan migrants has risen. Many are refugees fleeing violence in Afghanistan as the US and its NATO allies withdraw troops and Taliban fighters seize territory. Last year, Turkey seized about 105,000 refugees on the borderline, and this year, the number already exceeded 55,000.

Afghans have been crossing from Iran into Turkey for years, many of them on route to Europe; however, the number of detentions this month has raised concerns about a new influx. According to Turkish officials, the country has already hosted 3.7 million refugees from Syria, and an estimated 270,000 Afghans have been newly displaced inside the country since January.

By building the wall, Turkey wants to avoid another refugee wave.

Difficult words: influx (the arrival or entry of large numbers of people or things), seize (to take hold of someone or something quickly and forcefully), detention (when a government or police keep someone in official custody).

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