Nearly 3,000 Syrians back home in Jarabulus from Turkey

By Ozkan Beyer

GAZIANTEP (AA) – The number of Syrians who have returned to Jarabulus near the Turkish border from Turkey is approaching 3,000, weeks after the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) liberated the northern Syrian town in the Aleppo province, a local migration official told Anadolu Agency Thursday.

“Our office considers applications,” said Oktay Bahceci, head of the Gaziantep regional migration office. “People whose paperwork has been completed are able to return to their country. To date, a total of 2,857 people have left the country [for Syria]."

Syrians who fled the war-town country and took shelter in Turkey continue to return home since last week’s Eid al-Adha holiday, he added.

Following registration, Syrians, including women and children, are taken to Jarabulus after a security check at the Karakamis Customs Gate.

Thanks to Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield, the population of Jarabulus had now swelled from 3,500 to 25,000, according to a local official in the Syrian town. Hundreds of families are going back home from Azaz in Aleppo’s northern countryside and Manbij, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to safety concerns.

Syrian opposition forces recently took control of the Tal-ar district in the town of Cobanbey in the northwestern Aleppo province, which had been occupied by Daesh militants.

Operation Euphrates Shield began last month and saw Free Syrian Army fighters, backed by the Turkish military, take control of Jarabulus from Daesh.

Turkey has said the operation aims to bolster border security, supporting coalition forces and eliminating the threat posed by terror organizations, especially Daesh.

The operation is in line with the country’s right to self-defense borne out of international treaties and a mandate given to Turkey’s armed forces by its parliament in 2014, which was extended for another year in September 2015.