Turkey hands over 32 detainees to HTS at Bab al-Hawa crossing
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Turkish authorities handed over on Wednesday 32 people, they had arrested for two weeks, to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) at Bab al-Hawa border crossing in Idlib Governorate, northwest Syria.
An exclusive source told North Press that the arrestees included seven security and military members of the HTS who were arrested while trying to cross to Turkey from the village of Kherbet al-Joz, northwest Idlib.
After the Turkish border guards handed them over, the HTS took their fingerprints and iris scan to prevent their entry into Turkish territory again, the source said.
This is the 12th operation of handing over this month where the arrestees are being subjected to security investigations within the Turkish territory, sources said.
A source from the Bab al-Hawa crossing said the number of those handed over by the Turkish authorities to the HTS in the current month exceeded 150 people.
On August 19, the Turkish authorities handed over 14 Syrians to the HTS at Bab al-Hawa crossing.
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.