Four Belgians caught on Turkey-Syria border

Four Belgian citizens who had wanted to fight in Syria were arrested by Turkish police on the border, Belgian home affairs minister Joëlle Milquet has announced.She said the four Belgians had been sent back to Belgium on June 17, adding that this incident showed the excellent cooperation between Turkish and Belgian police to prevent Belgians from crossing the border to take part in the Syrian conflict, Turkish daily Hürriyet reports. Milquet last month visited Ankara to hold talks with Turkish officials about young Belgians involved in the Syrian conflict. She voiced Belgium’s concerns and said they had conveyed to Ankara Belgium’s unease about Belgians crossing the Turkish border to take part in the war and asked Turkey to tighten border security. Nearly 100 Belgian citizens are said to have participated in clashes under the direction of extremists.