By Arif Hudaverdi Yaman
ISTANBUL
The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey, approximately 900,000 as of June, will rise to 1.5 million by the end of the 2014, according to a new report.
The fleeing from Syria began in April 2011. The number of refugees living in 22 refugee camps near the Syrian border with Turkey has now reached 220,000 according to the report, prepared by the International Strategic Research Organization and the Brookings Institute. There are 515,000 refugees living outside the camps in different provinces of Turkey, the report said.
The settlement of refugees has intensified in provinces near the Syrian border with Turkey and in places like the southern Turkish province of Kilis, where the population of refugees living both in and outside the camps exceeds the city’s population.
Turkey has become the sixth among the countries in the world that host the highest numbers of refugees, the report said.
In terms of requests for asylum, Turkey was 15th in the world in 2010 but has jumped to fifth place because of the civil war in Syria, the report said.
The report said the Turkish government and non-governmental organizations should develop long-term policies to ease the integration of Syrian refugees into Turkish society, as they are likely to stay in Turkey for quite some time.
The report also said the Turkish government has succeeded in terms of camp settlement and the administration of those camps. The International Crisis Group called the camps in Turkey “The best refugee camps that have ever been seen.”
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