After quakes, 10,600 Syrians in Türkiye return home voluntarily, says defense chief

By Sarp Ozer

HATAY, Türkiye (AA) - Türkiye's defense chief stated on Sunday said that after the recent earthquakes in the south of the country, 10,633 Syrians had voluntarily returned to their home country across the border.

Inspecting the frontier from the land and air in Hatay province and speaking with border officials, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar dismissed claims that there had been an influx of Syrian refugees from Türkiye's southern border as "completely untrue."

"Contrary to the idea that there were intense crossings into Türkiye, they (border officials) said Syrian citizens crossed the border in one direction, from Türkiye to Syria. They stated that our Syrian brethren who lost their families and homes in the earthquake voluntarily returned to their homeland," he said.

"Thermal cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles are used to monitor our entire area of responsibility on a 24/7 basis. There's no movement at the border and no attempt to cross," Akar added.

Türkiye has been a key transit point for irregular migrants, including Syrians, who want to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution in their countries.

At least 40,642 people have been killed and over 108,000 injured in two powerful earthquakes that rocked southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, according to the latest official figures.

The 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa.

In Syria, at least 5,840 people have been killed.