Turkey extends wall on border area

Ankara, Sep 16 Turkey has extended the construction of a wall on the country's border with Iran amid a continued influx of refugees, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.

"We will add another 242 km to the 221 km we have built so far along our border with Iran," Soylu said at a meeting here on Wednesday on the issue of migration.

"Our negotiations with Iran has resulted successfully. We are planning to finish the 20 km on our (southeastern province) Hakkari border by winter," he added.

Turkey had taken measures on its eastern border before the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the Minister said.

He adding that 1,500 Afghan refugees were pushing the borders every day and now it has decreased to 200.

Turkey faces an influx of refugees from Afghanistan through its Iranian border following the withdrawal of American forces.

Nearly 300,000 Afghan refugees are already living in Turkey, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

They are believed to be the second-largest community of refugees in the country after Syr.

Turkey started to build the walls in the eastern Igdir province in 2017, and has built a total of 159 m of border wall in the eastern Agri province, according to Soylu.