Turkey moves to restrict inflow of Syrian refugees
Turkey is taking a series of measures in order to restrict the inflow of Syrian refugees, who are fleeing the ongoing fighting between the terrorist ISIL militant group and Kurdish forces near Turkey-Syria border.
AFP quoted an unnamed senior Turkish official on Thursday that the measure that being taken in order to limit the huge influx of Syrian refugees into Turkey will be “temporary.”
“The restrictions formulated by the local authorities are temporary and local,” the official stated, adding that thousands of people escaping the violence in Syria have crossed the border into Turkey in recent days.
The developments come as Kurdish forces are currently locked in a series of heavy clashes with the ISIL terrorists near the northern Syrian city of Tel Abyad and some other areas bordering Turkey.
Earlier on Wednesday, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus visited the Akcakale border crossing in southern Sanliurfa Province in order to assess the crossing of refugees into country.
Kurtulmus told reporters during the visit that Ankara would not accept more refugees.
“Turkey will not accept entries onto its territory from Syria except in case of a humanitarian tragedy,” media outlets quoted the deputy premier as saying.
Kurtulmus also criticized the European Union (EU) countries that have only accepted a handful of refugees.
According to a recent UN-ordered report titled, “Syria: Alienation and Violence, Impact of the Syria Crisis,” over three million Syrians have left their country since the beginning of the foreign-sponsored crisis March 2011.
About 6.8 million people have also become internally displaced since the conflict began there more than four years ago.
Turkey, along with Western states and their Arab allies, has been a major supporter of the extremist militants currently fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria.
JR/MKA/HMV
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