Repatriation of Syrians from Turkey

 Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Islamabad (UrduPoint News Today/ Pakistan Point News - 12th Dec, 2024 ) When the civil war in Syria began in 2011, millions of Syrians fled for their lives. Of these, about 3 million have sought refuge in neighboring Turkey. However, their presence there has become a problem for the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

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“The number of people returning to Syria in the past 15 days has exceeded 25,000,” Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency. He added that the Ankara government was in close contact with Syria’s new leaders and was focused on ensuring the voluntary return of Syrian refugees.

He also expressed hope that the new leaders in Damascus would allow many refugees to return home.

Ali Yerlikaya also said that "migration offices" would be established in the Turkish embassies and consulates in the Syrian capital Damascus and Aleppo to keep records of Syrian citizens returning to Syria.

Turkey reopened its embassy in Damascus after a 12-year hiatus, about a week after the government of former President Bashar al-Assad was overthrown by an opposition coalition led by the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The Turkish embassy in Syria was closed at the beginning of the Syrian civil war.

Speaking to Anadolu, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya also said that each family seeking refuge in Turkey will be given the right to enter and leave Turkey three times between January 1, 2025, and July 2025, and that these rules are being prepared on the special instructions of President Erdogan.

He added that Syrians returning to Syria from Turkey will be able to take their belongings and cars with them.

A B A/M M (AFP, Anadolu)