3 Syrian families return home

By Sefa Mutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - A ceremony was held in Istanbul on Tuesday to bid farewell to three Syrian families who were returning to their homes.

Their repatriation was made possible after Turkey led a counter-terror operation in Afrin, northwestern Syria, to clear the region of terrorists.

The families who had gathered at the event organized by Esenyurt Municipality thanked Turkey for its hospitality.

Yahya Talib, who had been living in Turkey as a refugee since the last three years, said: “We thank Turkish people [for their hospitality]. We felt like we were at home during our stay in Turkey.”

He will return to his village in Afrin.

“We called our relatives in Afrin. [They said] Afrin is a quite safe region now.”

Speaking at the ceremony, Esenyurt mayor Ali Murat Alatepe said two other families were returning to Jarablus, a city in Syria's Aleppo which was cleared of Daesh terrorists during Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield, from September 2016-March 2017.

“Thirty-five Syrian brothers are returning to their own lands; a free Syria liberated by Turkey,” Alatepe said.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to clear terrorist groups from Afrin amid growing threats from the region.

On March 18, Turkish-backed troops liberated the town center of Afrin. The forces are carrying out security sweeps for mines, improvised explosive devices, and terrorist hideouts.

Since the start of the operation, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish military emphasized that "utmost care" was being taken to not harm civilians.

According to customs gate officials in southern Turkey, around 60,000 Syrians crossed into their hometown from Turkey’s Oncupinar Border Gate since Jan. 1, 2015 as part of a voluntary return program.