A total of 2,280 Turkish citizens applied for asylum in European Union countries in October, the highest monthly number so far in 2018, according to an announcement from the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) on Tuesday, Deutsche Welle reported.
There has been a 9 percent increase in the number of Turkish citizens seeking asylum in EU countries when compared to the figure in September, which was 2,645.
EASO said the Turks who applied for asylum came to Europe recently according to the data they have, adding that there are 17,300 Turkish citizens who are waiting for the conclusion of their asylum process in Europe.
According to EASO, 44 percent of the Turkish citizens who applied for asylum in EU countries over the past six months were granted asylum.
Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15, 2016, after which the government launched a sweeping crackdown against all opposition, leading thousands to seek safety elsewhere in the world.
Turkey is the fifth county following Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran whose citizens seek asylum in EU countries.
EASO also said a total of 60,500 asylum applications were filed in EU countries in October, the highest number of applications in 2018 so far.