530,000 people voluntarily returned to safe zones in Syria: Turkish president

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye has ensured the voluntary return of an estimated 530,000 people to the safe zones in Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

"We have ensured the voluntary return of approximately 530,000 people to the safe zones we created in Syria," Erdogan said at an event in the capital Ankara.

More than 3.7 million Syrians currently reside in Türkiye, making it the world's top refugee-hosting country. Following the start of a bloody civil war in Syria, Türkiye adopted an "open-door" policy for Syrians fleeing persecution and brutality.

Erdogan said: "We have thwarted attempts to create a terror corridor along our southern border with the operations of Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, Claw, Peace Spring, Spring Shield and Claw-Lock."

Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April to target the PKK terror organization’s hideouts in northern Iraq’s Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions near the Turkish border.

It was preceded by Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.

Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.