Turkey One year after the invasion of northern Syria Refugee return did not proceed as expected October 9, 6:43
It has been nine days since the military operation invaded northern Syria due to the elimination of Kurdish armed groups that Turkey is hostile to.
Turkey is proceeding with the return of Syrian refugees from the country to the controlled areas, but security has not been restored and the return is not proceeding as expected.
Turkey invaded northern Syria on October 9, last year, to remove Kurdish armed groups from the border and set up a safe zone in the controlled areas to return Syrian refugees in Turkey.
More than 70 people, including civilians, were killed in a military operation of about two weeks, and more than 200,000 Kurdish residents were displaced.
It's been a year since the operation, but in the area where it was suppressed, terrorist bombings, which are believed to have been caused by Kurdish armed groups, have repeatedly occurred, and last month, explosives loaded in cars exploded in the border town of Ras al-Ayn. As a result, a total of 9 people died.
Turkey is proceeding with the return of Syrian refugees with a target of 2 million, but due to the deterioration of public security, the number of return is only 350,000, and it will return to the town where Kurdish residents who were displaced by military operations also lived I can't do it.
Citizens have been hunted down in Syria after nearly a decade of turmoil and civil war, with more than 5.56 million UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) living as refugees outside Syria and 6.1 million internally displaced persons. I point out that.
Those who evacuated said, "I want to go back even if my house is only pillars."
In the Syrian border town of Tel Abyad, which Turkey has conquered in military operations, among Syrian refugees returning from Turkey, "I am grateful to God for being able to return home" and "Kurdish armed groups have left, very much. I was happy to hear the voice of joy.
However, there are many Kurdish Syrian people who have been displaced by the military operation and are still unable to return.
Kurdish Fatima Hamad, who lived in Tel Abyad, is one of them (59).
Last October, just before the start of the military operation, she evacuated to a town about 100 kilometers south with her husband, seven children, and relatives.
The Fatima family cannot get a job at the evacuation site without any support such as supplies, and they live while cutting their savings.
"I can't send my daughters to school because my husband and son have no work and no money," Fatima complains.
Since the family lived comfortably in Tel Abyad, I would like to return someday, but now that security is deteriorating, I have never set foot in the town since I evacuated. is.
"My dream is to go back to Tel Abyad's house and settle down there. It doesn't matter if the house is just a pillar," Fatima said.
Expert "Operation is incomplete and can be resumed"
Regarding Turkey's military operation last October, Turkish government think tank SETA researcher Weissel Kurt said, "The original goal was to conquer the border area for 300 kilometers, but at the request of the United States and Russia. It was an unfinished operation, and only 120 kilometers were suppressed because it stopped. "
Regarding the return of Syrian refugees to the safe zone, he explained that the return has not progressed due to the deterioration of public security, saying that "the goal of returning 2 million Syrian refugees has not been achieved and the number is only 350,000." Did.
"There is a possibility that the operation will resume. The United States will continue to support Kurdish armed groups," Kurt said, saying that the goal of completely eliminating Kurdish armed groups that threaten Turkey's security from the border has not been abandoned. That is of utmost concern to Turkey, "he said, pointing out that the Turkish government may consider resuming military operations after looking at the outcome of the US presidential election.