Turkey returns 68 Iraqis from occupied north Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkey returned on Monday around 68 Iraqi nationals from occupied northern Syria to Iraq.
The Iraqis, who took refuge in Syria a decade ago, crossed into Turkey through the Tel Abyad border crossing at the Syrian-Turkish border and then to the Iraqi territory.
The operation was done in coordination between the Turkish and Iraqi authorities.
The Istanbul-based Turkish NGO, Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) was in charge of the operation, which was carried out in areas under the occupation of Turkish forces and their affiliated armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA).
Mehmet Altıntaş from IHH’s Humanitarian Diplomacy Unit said they returned hundreds of Iraqi people in 2024, and almost 10,000 in total since they started operations.
In October 2019, Turkish forces, along with the SNA factions occupied the cities of Tel Abyad and Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and surrounding areas after a military operation dubbed “Peace Spring.”
The operation caused the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, who now take refuge in IDP camps in Northeastern Syria.
Occupied areas in northern Syria witness frequent human rights violation committed by SNA factions with the support of Turkish forces, according to human rights groups.
Synergy/Hevdesti Association, a victims’ advocacy group operating in Northeast Syria, said SNA factions and Turkish forces arrested 338 people in the Kurdish-majority cities of Afrin, Tel Abyad and Sere Kaniye in northern Syria in the first half of 2024.