Erdoğan: Turkey to launch project to pave way for 1 mln Syrians to voluntarily return to motherland

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of new houses built in Syria's Idlib region via video link, Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed in his comments on Tuesday: "We are preparing a new project that would allow voluntary return of 1 million Syrian refugees."

Agencies and A News WORLD

Published May 03,2022

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ERDOĞAN: TURKEY TO LAUNCH PROJECT TO PAVE WAY FOR 1 MLN SYRIANS TO VOLUNTARILY RETURN TO MOTHERLAND

"Turkey has been preparing a new project that would allow voluntary return of 1 million Syrian refugees to their motherland," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a statement on Tuesday.

The project will materialize soon with the support of national and international non-governmental organizations, Erdoğan said at the inauguration ceremony of new houses built in Idlib in northern Syria.

Erdoğan attended the ceremony via video conference.

Since Turkey launched its cross-border operations in 2016, approximately 500,000 Syrians have returned to safe zones in northern Syria, the Turkish leader underlined in his comments.

He underlined that over 57,000 houses for around 50,000 families have so far been built in the Idlib area.

In total, there will be 100,000 houses that will contribute to lessening the suffering of "our Syrian brothers and sisters," Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan stressed that the area where houses are being built will also have a mosque, school, health center, bakery, social facility and playground.

He said the project will be realized in coordination with local and international NGOs as well local 13 different local councils in northern Syria.

Accordingly, we intend to build self-sufficient residential areas which will include economic and social infrastructure for 1 million Syrian refugees, which Turkey currently hosts, he added.

Noting that Turkey has been an active provider of humanitarian aid in different parts of the world, he said that the country does not have any discriminatory attitude.

Recently, Turkey sent over 5,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and 100 truckloads of aid material to Ukraine, Erdoğan added.

Separately, Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu inaugurated a complex for orphan children and a mosque built by Turkish non-governmental organizations in Idlib.

Soylu, who was in Idlib for the inauguration of newly built houses in the city, also visited some families who settled in their new homes in the Kemmune region and exchanged greetings for Eid al-Fitr, a three-day festival marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN estimates.