Turkey deports 31 Syrian asylum seekers
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Turkish authorities deported on Thursday 31 Syrian asylum seekers via Tel Abyad border crossing with Turkey, north of Raqqa Governorate, northern Syria, after being detained by Turkish border guards for a few days.
The deported Syrians were arrested by the border guards while they were trying to cross into Turkey from the city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), north of Hasakah, northeast Syria.
A private source told North Press that the administration of Tel Abyad crossing received the deported people, some of them are women and children, and handed them to Military Police, affiliated with Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka Syrian National Army (SNA).
On August 1, the Turkish authorities detained eight people on the border, west of the city of Tel Abyad, while they were trying to cross into Turkey. However, those eight people were not among those who were deported, according to the source.
As of the first half of 2023, the number of affected Syrian asylum seekers has reached 452 individuals, including 20 children and 26 women. Tragically, 25 people were killed and 121 others were injured during direct targeting by live bullets while attempting to cross the Syrian-Turkish border. In addition, the Turkish border guards have assaulted and beaten 306 individuals and have used excessive force to prevent them from crossing the border.
A day earlier, the Turkish authorities forcibly deported 45 Syrian refugees via Bab al-Hawa border crossing, north of Idlib Governorate, northwest Syria, a private source told North Press.
The administrations of Tel Abyad and Bab al-Hawa crossings announced the toll of Syrians who were forcibly deported from Turkey in July. 1,207 Syrian refugees were deported via Bab al-Hawa crossing, and 1,838 others via Tel Abyad crossing.
Since the beginning of July, the Turkish authorities have deported more than 2,500 Syrian refugees, mostly women and children, to the opposition-held areas in northern Syria through the Baba al-Hawa, Tel Abyad, and Bab al-Salama border crossings.
Though Syria is still unsafe for returns, Turkey tries to get rid of the refugees by forcibly deporting them, as the Turkish authorities have intensified the forced deportation of Syrians, as part of what they call voluntary return to safe areas in Syria, according to media and documentary reports.