Turkish authorities deport 2 Moroccan tourists to Syria
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – On Monday, two Moroccan tourists were deported to Syria with a group of Syrian refugees through Bab al-Salam border crossing, northern Aleppo. They were transferred to a security center in Azaz, northern Syria.
An exclusive source informed North Press that Turkish authorities handed over the Turkish-backed opposition factions, also known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), 18 detainees via the Bab al-Salam crossing. The SNA subsequently transferred them to an anti-terrorism center for further investigation.
The source noted that during the investigation of the deportees, it was discovered that two of them were Moroccan nationals who had mistakenly been deported while they were in Turkey as tourists.
The source also added that the Turkish intelligence transferred the two tourists to Bab al-Salam crossing and gave them back all their documents.
This confusion occurred because Turkish authorities do not thoroughly check the data of people suspected to be Syrians; instead, they simply confiscate their documents and deport them immediately and urgently, according to the source.
The source noted that the two Moroccans are Izz ad-Din Ramash bin Abd al-Rahim, 27, and Nabil Rushdie Ahmad 30.
The source said this is not the first incident of its kind. A week ago, an Algerian was deported to Idlib, northern Syria, via Bab al-Hawa border crossing while he was in Turkey as a tourist. He was then returned by his embassy.
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.