Turkey to reopen crossing for returning Syrians as Erdogan hails rebel victory
The Turkish president pledges support for reconstruction as the victory by opposition groups bolster efforts to re
ANKARA — Turkey will reopen a crossing with Syria to facilitate the return of Syrians, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday, as he hailed the opposition groups' victory in overthrowing the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
“As stability increases in Syria, God willing, voluntary, safe, dignified and orderly returns will increase,” Erdogan said in a televised speech after a cabinet meeting in Ankara.
“In a bid to prevent overcrowding [at border crossings] and facilitate traffic, we are also reopening the Yayladagı border gate for crossings.”
The Yayladagi crossing, which connects Turkey’s southeastern border province of Hatay and Syria’s northern Latakia province, has remained closed to civilian crossings since 2015. Turkey hosts nearly 3 million registered Syrians; the number of unregistered Syrians in the country remains unknown.
