Official: Number of Syrians decreased in Istanbul during 2019

Istanbul City Governor Ali Yerlikaya said on Saturday that the number of Syrians residing in the city decreased during 2019 compared to 2018.

“The number of Syrians living in Istanbul under the temporary protection law reduced by more than 78,200 to 479,420 people in 2019 compared to 2018,”  Yerlikaya was reported as saying.

He explained that Turkish authorities arrested about 118,432 irregular migrants in Istanbul during 2019, compared to only 28,364 in 2018.

According to the city’s governor, the authorities deported 37,582 irregular migrants from Istanbul last year compared with 11,292 migrants the previous year.

Since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey has hosted about 3.5 million Syrian refugees, making it the largest refugee-hosting country in the world.

READ: Erdogan says up to 250,000 Syrians flee toward Turkey as crisis worsens