Turkish border guards detain 21 Syrians including 3 women in Idlib
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Turkish border guards have detained 21 Syrians, including three women, in northwest Syria since the beginning of April amid fears for their fate, an exclusive source told North Press on Monday.
A source from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) said that the Turkish border guards have detained the people while trying to cross the border to Turkey.
The source added that human smuggling operations are mostly conducted in the areas of Azmarin and Kherbet al-Joz in the west of Idlib, northwest Syria.
However, the Turkish forces have recently been shooting directly on the people who seek refuge in Europe through Turkey. The goal of shooting is to intimidate the people to pay more to the border guards who impose high sums of money on the people, according to some smugglers.
Families of the detainees headed to Bab al-Hawa, a border crossing between Syria and Turkey in Idlib Governorate, to know the fate of their sons, however, the Turkish border guards gave no clarification.
Syrians who attempt to cross into Turkish territory are assaulted and shot by the Turkish border guards with live ammunition.
The Monitoring and Documentation Department of North Press recorded the death of 23 individuals and the injury of 96 others, including at least two children and five women, since the beginning of 2023.
On Sunday, the guards wounded a woman and her daughter near the village of Kherbet al-Joz in the countryside of Jisr al-Shughur city, west of Idlib.