Erdogan: "We will return one million Syrian refugees to their country" Israel today

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced today (Tuesday) that his country will work to encourage more than a million Syrian refugees who have fled to Turkey to return to their homes, through housing and infrastructure projects that his country will help establish in rebel-held territories in the north.

Erdogan's remarks come amid growing pressure in Turkey, home to 3.6 million Syrian refugees, to evict refugees from its territory, due to the fact that they are a source of social friction in a country where high unemployment, along with inflation and rising food prices make it harder for larger sections of the population to survive.

"We are preparing a major project to return more than a million of our Syrian brothers and sisters to their homeland," Erdogan said in a video released by the Turkish Presidency and also broadcast in Syria.

Erdogan said his country would work with civil society and aid organizations in Syria to implement the plan that would return Syrian citizens to their country.

Syrian refugees in the north of the country, Photo: AFP

The Turkish president noted that over half a million refugees have already returned to their homes in what Turkey calls the "safe zone", an area controlled by the anesthetists in the north of the country where Turkish military forces are alongside the various rebel organizations.

But despite the rosy image the Turkish president seeks to market, under pressure from next year's Turkish parliamentary and presidential elections, the situation in the rebel-held region, which has been significantly reduced in recent years, remains dire and chaotic.

The lack of central government alongside the activities of extremist organizations, criminal organizations and terrorist elements has made life in the northern Syrian strip difficult for the citizens and many continue to leave the region in search of employment and security.  

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