Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's prime minister has called on European nations to prevent jihadi fighters from travelling to Turkey to join and fight with radical groups in Syria.
In an address Tuesday to EU countries' ambassadors, Recep Tayyip Erdogan also asked that the nations cooperate with Turkey by sharing intelligence about people who may have already reached the country.
Erdogan said Turkey has already barred some 5,300 suspected jihadi from entering the country. At least 824 other people have been deported from Turkey.
Erdogan said those fighters posed a threat to Turkey "on their arrival" and would threaten the European countries' security "on their return."
Thousands of Europeans are fighting in Syria, which borders Turkey.
Erdogan also urged EU countries to help his country support an estimated 1 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
