Turkey to build 240,000 houses in northern Syria
QAMIHSLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkey’s Interior Minister, Suleyman Soylu, said on Thursday that his country, in coordination with Qatar, will build 240,000 houses in Turkish-occupied areas in northern Syria in less than three years.
He gave a speech in Bakırköy, telling off that he went to the city of Jarablus, northeast Syria, and attended the groundbreaking ceremony there.
The minister said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani met last year, as Erdogan proposed to build houses in areas he occupies and to take Syrian people from Turkey and place them in that “safe zone.”
At the time, Qatar agreed to construct 240,000 houses there for one million of Syrian refugees, Soylu added.
“I will buy these houses in Jarablus, al-Bab, Tel Abyad, Sere Kaniye [(Ras al-Ain)], together with 240,000 houses,” the minister said, quoting Erdogan as saying.
The Turkish government plans to settle about one million Syrian refugees in 13 Syrian areas, which are not the areas the refugees are originally from, adjacent to the southern border of Turkey starting from Azaz in the west to Sere Kaniye in the east.
On May 23, Erdogan announced that Turkey will deport one million Syrian refugees to northern Syria without identifying a specific time for commencing the process.
Turkey and Qatar “signed the protocol for 240,000 houses in April and … laid the foundation of the first 5,000 houses today,” according to the Turkish minister.
“5000 houses will be finished in 6 months. Within 2 months, 28 thousand more houses will start and we will complete 240 thousand houses in a period of 2.5 years, 3 years at the latest,” he added.
The number of settlements built by Turkey with the support of Gulf countries, most notably Kuwait and Qatar, and Palestinian associations, has exceeded more than 100 in Turkish-occupied areas in northern Syria, according to North Press’ own investigations.
Turkey has repeatedly – and illegally – deported Syrian refugees under the pretext of violating asylum laws and not amending their data regarding the temporary protection ID card, also known as Kimlik.
In June 2022, Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ), a human rights organization, published an extensive investigative report in which it revealed details of the demographic change process implemented in the Turkish occupied city of Afrin, northwest Syria, by Turkey.
Turkey launched three military operations against northern and northeastern regions in Syria. The first was “Euphrates Shield” operation in 2016 where it occupied Jarablus and al-Bab, the second was “Olive Branch” operation in 2018 where it occupied Afrin region, and the third was “Peace Spring” in 2019 which resulted in the occupation of the two cities of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad with their countryside.