Opposition party to hold workshop on Syrians in Turkey

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's opposition Good (IYI) Party will hold a workshop on Syrians staying in Turkey, the party's senior lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Speaking to journalists in the parliament, Umit Ozdag, lawmaker from Istanbul province, said the workshop will be held on Dec. 16 at the party’s headquarter.

"With the workshop, a concrete plan will be revealed for the first time on how the Syrian refugees [in Turkey] could return to their homeland," Ozdag said.

After the workshop, IYI Party leader Meral Aksener will announce the action plan on the issue, he added.

Around 370,000 Syrians in Turkey have voluntarily returned to terror-free areas in their country after Turkey's anti-terror operations in northern Syria.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, over 5 million civilians have become refugees. Turkey hosts 3.6 million of them, more than any country in the world.