Turkish authorities deport 600 Syrian refugees to northern Syria
TEL ABYAD, IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Turkish authorities deported on Saturday 590 Syrian refugees, including women and their children, to Syria through Tel Abyad and Bab al-Hawa border crossings in northern and northwestern Syria respectively.
Sources in the two border crossings told North Press that the Turkish authorities deported more than 590 Syrian refugees, including women and children, and handed them to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and factions of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), through Bab al-Hawa and Tel Abyad crossings respectively.
The sources added that SNA factions received around 200 Syrians and transferred them to shelters where they will be investigated.
As for HTS, which controls much of northwestern Syria, it received 390 Syrian refugees, including women and their children, according to administrative sources at the Bab al-Hawa crossing.
The sources indicated that the deportation process took place after the Turkish authorities collected all personal identification documents of the refugees. The authorities also took their biometric data to ensure that they would not return to Turkish territory.
According to administrative sources from the Bab al-Hawa and Tel Abyad crossings, the number of Syrians who have been forcibly deported exceeded 11,000 in September.
In late July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed that “more than 600,000 displaced people have returned to the country.” In May, Erdogan said that Turkey is working on ensuring the “voluntary return” of one million Syrian refugees.
Though Syria is still unsafe for returns, Turkey tries to get rid of refugees by forcibly deporting them. The Turkish authorities have intensified the forced deportation of Syrians as part of what they call voluntary return to safe areas in northern Syria, according to media and documentary reports.