11 April 2018•Update: 11 April 2018
ANKARA
More than 162,000 Syrians have returned to terror-free regions in Syria following Turkish military-led Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Olive Branch, said Turkey’s deputy director general of Migration Management.
“Following the Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Olive Branch, more than 162,000 Syrians have returned to regions cleared of terrorists. We are seeing a rapidly increasing trend in Syrians returning to their former lands after these operations,” Abdullah Ayaz said.
Ayaz told Anadolu Agency that there are currently 3,567,000 Syrians residing in Turkey.
He said the return of Syrians to terror-free regions in Syria is continuing and that further increase in the trend is expected in the coming period.
He said that all units of Turkish Interior Ministry are working to make Afrin a “livable place again” after the Operation Olive Branch and efforts to provide safe return of the Syrian families.
Turkey on Jan. 20 launched Operation Olive Branch to remove YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin. On March 18, Turkish troops and Free Syrian Army liberated the Afrin district center.
“We have done our efforts in determining those Syrians who voluntarily wants to return to Afrin. We have contacted each one of them and assured that we will provide all means of support and ease to them,” Ayaz said.
He said the Directorate of General of Migration Management began “Updating Syrians’ Registrations Project” in January 2018 to update the missing information of the Syrian refugees.
“We have updated 1.5 million Syrians’ registrations. With this project, we will have more reliable database, and we will be able to share these data with the relevant institutions, organizations and partners,” he added.
Regarding the fake news on refugees shared on social media, Ayaz dismissed the claims that "the government is paying Syrian refugees’ telephone bills, giving them salary, buying houses for them or admitting them in universities without any examination."
He said the refugees at the Deportation Centers, without any money, are receiving telephone cards via European Union funds given for this purpose. Additionally, he stressed that one must be a Turkish citizen in order to buy a house from state-owned housing agency TOKI.
“We do not offer more or different services to any Syrians or foreigners than our own citizens,” he underscored.
Reporting by Muhammed Boztepe:Writing by Merve Aydogan
