Turkish lawmakers call for sharing refugee burden

By Betul Yuruk

NEW YORK (AA) - A delegation of Turkish lawmakers called on the world to share the burden of refugees.

Ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party deputies Ebubekir Gizligider, Lutfiye Ilksen Ceritoglu Kurt, Erdogan Ozegen and main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Aytug Atici on Thursday attended global migration meetings at the UN headquarters.

Following the meetings, Gizligider told Anadolu Agency that Turkey hosts over 3.5 million refugees and meets their needs.

"Here, we tried to explain this, especially to the West: 'Do not leave us alone, because if you leave us alone, then you leave yourself alone'," Gizligider added.

"We will continue to demand material and moral support for the issue," he added.

Kurt said Turkey spends its funds on refugees so that they are able to acquire an education and lead respectable lives.

"The whole world, particularly Europe, talks about a world suffering from [illegal] migration, but none of them take responsibility," Kurt added.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since March 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since the start of the conflict, as many as 11 million people have fled their homes and taken refuge in neighbouring countries. Six million still live in Syria.

Turkey has become the biggest refugee-hosting country in the world, registering 3.4 million refugees from Syria, according to the UN. It has spent $30 billion on the Syrian refugee crisis since 2011.

Two million Syrians have been registered by the UN Refugee Agency in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon.

UN officials say hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict.