Turkey deports 135 Syrian refugees to North Syria
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Turkish authorities deported on Thursday 135 Syrian refugees, including women and children, to the city of Tel Abyad, northern Syria.
A source at the Tel Abyad border crossing told North Press that Turkish authorities forcibly deported 135 Syrians, including 28 women and children.
This came after Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report that Turkey is forcibly deporting Syrian refugees to the occupied city of Tel Abyad where they face deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
HRW’s report revealed the Tel Abyad border crossing administration labeled all Syrian returnees as voluntary between January and June 2023.
Turkey and its affiliated armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), occupied the border strip stretching between the cities of Tel Abyad and Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) in northeast Syria in 2019 in a military operation dubbed ‘Peace Spring.’
“Türkiye’s ‘voluntary’ returns are often coerced returns to ‘safe zones’ that are pits of danger and despair,” said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
“Türkiye’s pledge to create ‘safe zones’ rings hollow as Syrians find themselves forced to embark on perilous journeys to escape the inhumane conditions in Tel Abyad,” Coogle said.
The source added the intensity of deportations increased during the month of Ramadan.