| Updated: May 11, 2024 |
Published: 2016-02-08 |
(eNews.pk) -
Turkish aid workers have been setting up tents and distributing supplies for thousands of new Syrian refugees kept from entering Turkey at the border.
Turkey says that refugees are receiving food and shelter in Syria and there is no need yet to allow cross.
Turkey and hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees - at least 2.5 million
Some 35,000 people fled an offensive by the Syrian government in the area of Aleppo last week, trying to get into the border region of Turkey Kilis.
However, Turkey has closed until the border for most of them despite appeals from EU leaders to let them cross.
The country is already home to more than 2.5 million refugees from the war in Syria.
Many Syrians have gone to seek asylum in the EU and made up the largest group among the more than one million refugees and other immigrants who entered illegally last year, mainly by sea from Turkey
Turkey is attempting a balancing act between providing refuge for those fleeing the war in Syria and reducing the number of refugees who travel to Europe.
You hear in words Deputy Minister Numan Kurtulmus. "Turkey has reached its capacity to absorb refugees," he said, "but still will take you in."
It's a confusing situation and prevented 35,000 crossing into Turkey are feeling the pinch. Largely the wounded are coming across our partners saying Turkey must open the border.
The EU is also giving mixed messages, calling one day in Turkey to allow those fleeing persecution, but next express frustration that Turkey is not doing enough to stop the flow of refugees to Europe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in Ankara on Monday to talk through. It could be a messy discussion.
In recent days, the Syrian army - backed by air strikes from Russia - has made a number of gains around Aleppo, the largest city in Syria.
Aid officials at the border crossing Oncupinar told Reuters news agency his efforts so far have focused on getting aid to the camps on the Syrian side of the border.
"We extend our efforts inside Syria for the provision of shelter, food and medical assistance to the people," an unnamed official of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation of Turkey said.
Detail Note:
8th Feb 2016 Turkish aid workers were setting up tents and distributing supplies for thousands of new Syrian refugees enter Turkey prevented at the border.
Some 35,000 people fled an offensive by the Syrian government in the area of Aleppo last week, trying to get into the border region of Turkey Kilis.
However, Turkey has closed until the border for most of them despite appeals from EU leaders to let them cross.
The country is already home to more than 2.5 million refugees from the war in Syria.
Many Syrians have gone to seek asylum in the EU and made up the largest group among the more than one million refugees and other immigrants who entered illegally last year, mainly by sea from Turkey.
Analysis: Mark Lowen, BBC, Gaziantep
Turkey is attempting a balancing act between providing refuge for those fleeing the war in Syria and reducing the number of refugees who travel to Europe.
You hear in words Deputy Minister Numan Kurtulmus. "Turkey has reached its capacity to absorb refugees," he said, "but still will take you in."
It's a confusing situation and prevented 35,000 crossing into Turkey are feeling the pinch. Largely the wounded are coming across our partners saying Turkey must open the border.
The EU is also giving mixed messages, calling one day in Turkey to allow those fleeing persecution, but next express frustration that Turkey is not doing enough to stop the flow of refugees to Europe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in Ankara on Monday to talk through. It could be a messy discussion.
In recent days, the Syrian army - backed by air strikes from Russia - has made a number of gains around Aleppo, the largest city in Syria.
Aid officials at the border crossing Oncupinar told Reuters news agency his efforts so far have focused on getting aid to the camps on the Syrian side of the border.
"We extend our efforts inside Syria for the provision of shelter, food and medical assistance to the people," an unnamed official of the Humanitarian Relief Foundation of Turkey said.
"We already creating another field. At the moment all our preparations are to ensure that these people feel comfortable on the Syrian side of the border."
The agency found a mix of campaign and antique shops in a newly built camp at Bab al-Salama, in Syria and against Oncupinar.
A refugee, Mouhammed Idris, told Reuters: "We came to the fields with children, including the only one month old we turn to Turkey, where no security and no bombardment ..
"In the beginning "Turkish President", Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the Syrians that he was her brother. He must not abandon them, you must open the doors, he must return to help them. Now all these people have nowhere to go. ¿ where they are supposed to go? they can not return to their homes. "
Erdogan said Saturday that Turkey was ready to open its doors to Syrian refugees "if necessary".
The head of EU foreign policy Federica Mogherini said this weekend that Turkey had a moral, if not legal, duty to protect.
She said the EU was providing funding to Turkey to make sure I had the "means, instruments, resources to protect and house the asylum seekers".
In November, the EU reached an agreement with Turkey, which allows to € 3 billion (£ 2.3bn, $ 3.3bn) to meet Syrian refugees on Turkish soil.
Around 4.6 million people have fled Syria since the civil war began in 2011. Another 13.5 million are said to be in need of humanitarian assistance inside the country.
On Thursday, 60 donor countries meeting in London pledged billions of dollars to alleviate the plight of Syrian refugees.
The Syrian war and Aleppo
March 2011: Anti-government protests erupt across Syria, but Aleppo is initially untouched as a result of a state crackdown
February 2012: As the rebellion turns into a conflict, clashes between rebels and the government are reported with increasing frequency in Aleppo province
July 2012: The battle for Aleppo begins. Rebels make swift advances, but are unable to consolidate their gains and the city becomes divided
2013: The government begins bombarding rebel districts with barrel bombs, causing thousands of casualties
September 2015: Syria launches a fresh offensive in the wake of Russia's intervention in the conflict
February 2016: The government captures towns north of Aleppo, threatening to encircle the city
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