The number of Syrians leaving Turkey and returning to their homeland has passed 20,000 since twin earthquakes hit the neighbouring countries on 6 February, the Turkish defence minister said on Thursday.
While visiting the earthquake-hit southern province of Hatay, Minister Hulusi Akar responded to speculations about a possible new disaster-triggered Syrian migration wave heading into Turkey.
“This is absolutely not true. We discussed this issue intensely during our inspections at the border, the meetings with military and civilian officials, the visits to our military divisions near the border and the meetings we had on border crossings,” Akar said.
“Those claims are totally unreal. Syrian citizens living in Turkey are returning to their lands because they lost their homes and relatives,” Akar said. “We are observing that this number as surpassed 20 thousand,” he added.
Turkey, which is home to some four million Syrian refugees that fled the civil war in their country, has witnessed an escalation in anti-Syrian sentiments since the earthquake.