Turkey: half-million Syrians return voluntarily to their country

Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Wednesday that as many as 503,150 Syrians have returned voluntarily to their country, Anadolu has reported. Soylu added that increasing this number is linked to more stability in the region and creating opportunities and housing for people.

Speaking at an event for Turkey’s projects to build houses in Syria’s Idlib, Soylu said that the “Together, We Stand with Idlib” campaign launched in 2020 by order of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed to build 20,000 houses in the first phase. The minister pointed out that the number has now risen to 100,000.

According to the official, as many as 59,679 homes have been constructed by Turkish organisations and institutions; 45,903 of them are in the Idlib region, and 13,776 are in the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch Operations region. More than 51,000 families have been settled in these houses so far.

The housing projects include the construction of 69 mosques, 24 health centres, 68 schools, 23 children’s playgrounds, 26 social facilities, 95 wells and bakeries, explained Soylu. He noted that construction work continues on 15 mosques, six schools and 14 social facilities. “We will finish the 100,000 homes before the end of the year, as these homes save at least 600,000 people from living in tents,” he added.

Soylu stressed that Turkey has provided the most humanitarian aid in the world during the past four years. However, it has become impossible for the country to absorb more refugees.

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