Forcible deportation of Syrian refugees from Turkey
ISTANBUL, Turkey (North Press) – On Monday, sources interested in the conditions of Syrians in Turkey said that the Turkish authorities continue to deport Syrian refugees from their lands to northwestern Syria under pretexts and excuses related to their lack of possessing necessary legal documents.
The management of both the Bab al-Salama and Bab al-Hawa border crossings with Turkey, confirmed the validity of the reports about the “forcible” deportation of Syrian refugees, according to identical sources interested in Turkish affairs.
According to a statement published by the Bab al-Hawa border crossing management, the number of Syrian refugees who were deported from Turkey to northern Syria in January 2021, reached 2,229.
The matter is not limited to deporting Syrian refugees from Turkey to northwestern Syria through the Bab al-Hawa crossing, but there are other crossings that receive Syrians deported from Turkey.
Earlier in February, the Bab al-Salameh crossing management published statistics on the number of deported Syrian refugees, among them 59 Syrian refugees who were “forcibly” deported to Syrian territory to reside permanently.
In a phone call to North Press, Qais al-Hassan, a human rights activist, said, “many Syrians are being arrested on Turkish territory under the pretext that they do not have legal documents with them, especially the temporary protection card (Kimlik).”
The Turkish authorities also invoke the deportation of Syrians, “under the pretext of fabricating some problems that do not rise to the level of making a decision to deport to areas that may not be safe for Syrians, even if they are in Idlib and its countryside,” according to al-Hassan.
From time to time, the Turkish authorities carry out campaigns related to the arrest of Syrian violators, and then to organize the necessary files against them to deport them to Syria.
About 4 million Syrians live in Turkey, according to Turkish official statistics.