Syrian opposition wary of Erdogan’s plan to return 1 million refugees
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that his country is preparing to return 1 million Syrian refugees to the northern Syria areas controlled by the Turkish-backed opposition, but he fell short of announcing the mechanism by which such numbers would return.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced May 3 a plan by his government that would allow the “voluntary return” of 1 million Syrian refugees from Turkey to northern Syria.
Erdogan’s statements came in a video speech he made during an event attended by Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu in the town of Sarmada in Idlib’s northwestern province of Syria to hand over housing units built by the Turkish government and Turkish relief organizations to the displaced.
The Turkish president said in his speech, “About 500,000 Syrians have returned to the safe areas that Turkey has provided since launching its operations in Syria in 2016.”
“We are preparing for a new project that will allow the voluntary return of 1 million of our Syrian brothers whom we host in our country,” he added.
