Turkish Minister: Türkiye will be Syrian refugees free by 2023
In statements issued for the first time by a high-ranking government figure, a Turkish minister pledged to evacuate her country of Syrian refugees within one year, during her participation in the opening of a home for the elderly in the city of Adana, located in the south of the country on the border with Syria, where Syrian refugees are present in large numbers, due to its proximity From the Syrian cities from which they fled, such as Idlib and its countryside.
In the details, Darya Yanik, the Turkish Minister of Family and Social Affairs, pledged to evacuate Türkiye of Syrian refugees by the next year 2023, when Türkiye is witnessing crucial presidential and parliamentary elections in which Syrian refugees have become a subject of controversy for the ruling Justice and Development Party and the parties that oppose it alike.
During her participation in the opening of a home for the elderly, Yanik supported the expected Turkish operation that Türkiye has threatened to launch against the “Syria Democratic Forces” for more than three months, considering it necessary to prevent the establishment of a “terrorist state” on Türkiye’s southern border, in reference to the areas run by the Syrian Kurds.
Its affairs are with their local allies in the “Autonomous Administration” of northern and eastern Syria.
In her speech during a press conference, the Turkish minister added: “We’ll intensify our efforts and work with all our energy so that there are no Syrians left on our land after 2023”.
However, the issue of expelling Syrian refugees from Türkiye in large numbers seems very difficult, according to what a Turkish political analyst describes.
The Turkish Minister of Family and Social Affairs also said on Monday, during the opening of a home for the elderly, that Türkiye’s mission is not limited to protecting refugees, but includes preventing the establishment of a “terrorist state” in northern Syria, considering that the establishment of this state will mean the division of southeastern Türkiye, where The Kurds are also present.
She also added, “Türkiye will send refugee convoys to Syria, and by 2023 there will not be a single refugee on our land”.
The Turkish minister’s statements coincide with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s pledge, who pledged about two months ago to return more than a million Syrian refugees to his country before next June, which is the date of the presidential and parliamentary elections that Türkiye will witness in less than a year from now.
About three months ago, Ankara has been threatening to launch a new military operation targeting the “Syria Democratic Forces”, which control Syrian areas located on the border with Turkey and include parts of the provinces of Aleppo and al Hasakah, as well as areas located in the countryside of Deir al Zour.
The “Syria Democratic Forces”, which Türkiye accuses of “terrorism”, is a military alliance that includes Kurdish, Arab and Syriac armed groups, in addition to fighters from various other religious and ethnic backgrounds.
