ASHGABAT -- The Turkmen National Security Ministry and State Migration Service recently began an effort to identify citizens who have gone abroad to work, Alternative News of Turkmenistan reported May 24, quoting a broadcast by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)'s Turkmen service.
Security agents recently polled residents of several districts of Lebap Province and found out that tens of thousands of Turkmens have gone to Turkey, RFE/RL reported.
Turkmen authorities are collecting names in the hope of persuading migrant workers to come home, a source in Turkmen law enforcement told Central Asia Online.
"We know of cases when migrant workers from Turkmenistan have gone to Turkey and have been recruited for ISIL ['the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant'] and other terrorist groups," the source said.
