Turkey closed its borders in November 2015 to the influx of Syrians fleeing the civil war and the forced displacement forced upon them by the Syrian regime. Others have fled the poor living conditions and services in the opposition-held areas — be it in Idlib, under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham or in the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch areas under the control of Turkish-backed rebels.

Some fleeing Syrians pass through Turkey as a transit route to Europe, but most of them settle in Turkey in order to work and earn a living. 

Despite Turkey tightening its borders with Syria, dozens of Syrians still attempt to illegally cross every day, most of whom are arrested by the Turkish border guards (Gendarmerie); the majority of them are beaten and sometimes killed, or imprisoned and suffer all kinds of humiliation. The United Nations Human Rights published its biannual report on Syria documenting abuses allegdely carried out by Turkey and Sunni-backed groups engaging in human rights violations.

Amin Mohammed, 23, from the southern countryside of Aleppo, who was shot by a Gendarmerie sniper a year ago, told Al-Monitor, “After the Syrian army took control of my village in the southern countryside of Aleppo, I moved with my family to the Deir Hassan area near the Turkish border in Idlib countryside since it was far from the bombing of the Syrian regime army. I was the breadwinner in my family and we had no land or livestock left for us to live on, so I decided to go to Turkey to work and support my family. When I reached the border wall between Syria and Turkey and tried to cross it, I was shot near my rib cage. The bullet did not go all the way in, and I had to return to Syrian territory bleeding.”