Turkey deports 120 refugees to areas it occupies in northern Syria
TEL ABYAD, Syria (North Press) – On Friday, Turkish authorities deported 120 Syrian and Iraqi refugees to the city of Tel Abyad in the north of Raqqa on the Syrian-Turkish border.
An exclusive source told North Press that the Turkish authorities forcibly deported 120 Syrian and Iraqi refugees, including 38 women with their children and 10 Iraqis, to Tel Abyad.
The city of Tel Abyad in northern Syria has been under the occupation of the Turkish forces and has been controlled by the SNA factions since 2019 following the so-called “Peace Spring” military operation that aimed to push away the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) under the pretext of protecting the Turkish national security.
The source said most of the deportations took place through the Tel Abyad and Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) border crossings which are under the occupation of the Turkish forces.
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 northwestern Syria, according to media and documentary reports.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously told reporters that the number of the Syrian refugees who have “voluntarily returned” has exceeded one million and would increase in the future.
Since August 1, more than 500 refugees, both Syrians and Iraqis, have crossed the Tel Abyad border crossing to Syria.