UPDATE - Over 414,00 Syrians return home thanks to Turkey

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM TURKISH INTERIOR MINISTER

By Erdinc Aksoy, Cem San, and Sinan Balcikoca

BALIKESIR, Turkey (AA) - Success of Turkey's cross-border anti-terror operations has enabled voluntary return of over 414,000 Syrians, the Turkish interior minister said on Thursday.

Speaking at a workshop on Syria in the Ayvalik district of the northwestern Balikesir province, Suleyman Soylu said: "Thanks to the security provided by our Peace Spring, Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield operations, 414,061 Syrian brothers and sisters, who we have hosted in our country, have voluntarily returned to where they lived [in Syria]."

Following the operations, efforts continue to normalize life and preserve stability in these regions, Soylu noted.

Underlining that Turkey had quickly opened a 100-bed hospital in the northwestern Syrian city of Afrin, he said efforts were ongoing to add new facilities.

In addition to security, Turkey also provides assistance in other areas such as health, education, electricity, agriculture and reconstruction in this region, he added.

According to the UN refugee agency, “Turkey currently hosts some 3.6 million registered Syrian refugees along with close to 370,000 persons of concern from other nationalities.”

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched four successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable peaceful settlement by locals: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018), Peace Spring (2019), and Spring Shield (2020).