Syrians in Turkey seek to return to their homes

SANLIURFA, Turkey

Syrians, who took refuge in Turkey, are seeking to return to their hometowns after the Turkish military and Syrian National Army (SNA) cleared Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn regions in northern Syria of YPG/PKK terrorists.

The Syrians, who had fled the oppression of YPG/PKK terrorists, are hopeful to return to their homes, located just several hundred meters from the Turkish border.

Ahmet Sari, 30, who came from Ras al-Ayn and was a trainer at a gym there, was staying in the Ceylanpinar district of Sanliurfa province in Turkey.

He took refuge in Turkey along with his two children when terrorists took control of his hometown. “There were armed conflicts. I have two children. One of the first reasons I came to Turkey was [to protect] lives and future of my children” Sari said.

He has been living in Ceylanpinar for seven years and working as a chef in a cafe.

“My mother and father are still in Ras al-Ayn, I talk to them by phone. I miss my parents very much, and I also miss my job and trainees which were part of my life. I would like to go back to my homeland after seven years if clashes ended there,” he added.

“Good days are coming. We haven’t seen the situation there but it will be fine with the will of Allah,” he said.

Oppression

Yasin Ismail Halaf, another Syrian, has been staying in Turkey with his nine family members for more than four years.

YPG/PKK terrorists oppressed us and forced us to leave, said Halaf.

“I know that they [YPG/PKK terrorists] were trained for ethnic cleansing of Arabs in Tal Abyad and force them to leave [...] They closed all trade routes, terminated job opportunities, they left people to starve and forced them to leave country,” he said.

“I am thankful to president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish army and Syrian National Army,” he said adding: “We have packed our belongings, once Turkey says the areas are safe, we will go back to our homes.”

On Oct. 9, Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.

Ankara agreed with Washington on Oct. 17 to pause its operation to allow YPG/PKK terrorists to withdraw from the planned safe zone.

On Oct. 22, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a meeting in Russia's Black Sea resort town of Sochi just hours before the pause was set to expire.

Ankara and Moscow reached a deal under which YPG/PKK terrorists will pull back 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) south of Turkey’s border with northern Syria within 150 hours and security forces from Turkey and Russia will conduct joint patrols there.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK.

* Writing by Davut Demircan