Turkish authorities deport 500 Syrians to northern Syria
TEL ABYAD, IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Turkish authorities deported on Wednesday 500 Syrian refugees, including women and their children, through the Tel Abyad and Bab al-Hawa border crossings in northern and northwestern Syria respectively.
An exclusive source told North Press that the Turkish authorities deported 500 Syrian refugees, including women and their children, through Bab al-Hawa and Tel Abyad border crossings to areas held by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, also known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), respectively.
The source stated that the Turkish authorities handed over 165 Syrian refugees to SNA factions in the city of Tel Abyad, adding the deportees were taken to shelters for investigations.
As for HTS, it received 335 Syrian refugees from the Turkish authorities, including women and their children.
The deportation process took place after obtaining their biometric data and fingerprints to prevent their return permanently.
Sources within Tel Abyad and Bab al-Hawa border crossings confirmed to North Press that the number of forcibly deported Syrians exceeded 9,000 since the beginning of September.
In late July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that “more than 600,000 displaced people have returned to the country.” In May, Erdogan said that Turkey is working on ensuring the “voluntary return” of one million Syrian refugees.
Though Syria is still unsafe for returns, Turkey tries to get rid of refugees by forcibly deporting them. The Turkish authorities have intensified the forced deportation of Syrians as part of what they call voluntary return to safe areas in northern Syria, according to media and documentary reports.