Erdogan opens another border crossing to Syria for refugees
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes that refugees will return to their home country after the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad. He hopes that the return of stability in Syria will also increase the voluntary return of Syrians, Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting. To ensure that this happens in an orderly manner, he has opened another border crossing in the southern Turkish province of Hatay. Turkey has taken in the most refugees from Syria worldwide; according to the UN, around three million are currently still living in the country.
09.12.2024, 19:00
SDA
"Since yesterday, a dark era in Syria has come to an end and a bright one has begun," said Erdogan on the fall of Assad. With regard to military operations by Turkey and the rebels it supports against the Kurdish militia YPG in northern Syria, Erdogan said that Turkey had not set its sights on the territory of any other country. However, it would not tolerate "terrorism" on the border.
Turkey sees the YPG as an offshoot of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) and therefore as a terrorist organization. In the past, it has carried out several military operations against the YPG in northern Syria and is occupying border regions there with the support of rebels.
