Half a million Syrians return from Turkey, but were they forced?
Some 560,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey have returned to their country as part of deportation projects, many fleeing the harassment they were facing in the country.
The issue of hosting Syrian refugees has become a hot topic in Turkey about six months before the presidential elections and at a time when Turkey is grappling with a severe economic crisis.
Opposition parties pledged for ensuring the return of millions of Syrians.
The future of Syrian refugees thus seems to be reliant on two plans. The first, announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May, is mainly a project allowing “the voluntary return of 1 million Syrian refugees to their country.”
Speaking in a video message at the opening of briquette houses for Syrians living in Idlib in northern Syria, Erdogan said the plan will be “very comprehensive” and implemented in 13 districts along Syria’s northern border.
