60,000 Syrians have left Turkey, Turkish defense chief says
Syrian refugees in Turkey remain a central theme ahead of the country's critical May 14 elections.
![An aerial picture shows Syrian refugees living in Turkey waiting to take a bus through the northern Bab al-Hawa border crossing, on February 17, 2023, as they return to Syria in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. - Turkey this week allowed Syrians under its protection who hold ID cards from one of the quake-hit provinces to leave for between three and six months, a rule change designed to reunite families on both sides of the border hit by the February 6 disaster, which has killed more than 41,000 people](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/2023-03/GettyImages-1247228533.jpg?h=a141e9ea&itok=4d1HPsQV)
ANKARA — The number of Syrians leaving Turkey after the devastating recent earthquakes has reached 60,000, Turkish defense chief Hulusi Akar said Monday.
On Feb. 6, two earthquakes and their aftershocks killed more than 50,000, including nearly 6,500 Syrians in Turkey. The disaster affected the country’s southern provinces which were home to a large Syrian refugee population.