Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerli Kaya announced today, Tuesday, that more than 25,000 Syrian refugees have crossed the Turkish border into their country during the last 15 days.
Yerli Kaya told the official Anatolia news agency: “The number of people returning to Syria in the last 15 days has exceeded 25,000 people.”
Previous figures published by the Turkish authorities indicated the return of 7,620 people from Turkey to Syria between December 9 and 13, that is, 4 days after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s rule, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
On December 8, the Syrian opposition took control of the capital, Damascus, and before that, other cities, with the withdrawal of regime forces from public institutions and the streets, thus ending an era that lasted 61 years of rule by the Baath Party regime, and 53 years of rule by the Assad family.
Last Friday, Amy Pope, Director of the International Organization for Migration, told reporters that the return of Syrian refugees in large numbers to their homes will put pressure on the country, and may inflame the conflict at a fragile stage following the overthrow of former President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, according to Reuters.
Pope added, during a press briefing in Geneva after visiting Syria: “We believe that the return of millions of people will cause conflict within an already fragile society.”
She continued: “We do not support returns on a large scale. The towns are frankly not prepared to accommodate the displaced.”
Last updated: December 24, 2024 – 12:16
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