Ali Yerlikaya announces number of Syrians returning home: 'Increased by 1.5 to 2 times'

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya made statements to members of the press at the Palace following the Cabinet Meeting.

Speaking about the return of Syrians in Turkey to their home country, Yerlikaya responded to the question, "Is there an intensity at the border crossings regarding Syrian refugees, or a number of applications from those who want to leave?" by saying, "They are looking at the latest situation in Syria. A government is being formed in Syria. Everything is new right now. We are observing as well."

Yerlikaya stated, "On Wednesday, we will meet with Syrian NGOs and NGOs that support Syrians. In 2024, there were an average of 11,000 voluntary, safe, and dignified returns per month. Today, a movement has begun. This number increased by 1.5-2 times by noon. Our daily capacity for voluntary, safe, and dignified returns at our border gates was around 3,000. This capacity was sufficient because 350-400 people were crossing daily. However, since the number of crossings may increase, we have now increased this capacity to 15,000-20,000."

"THE NUMBER OF SYRIANS UNDER TEMPORARY PROTECTION IS 2 MILLION 936 THOUSAND"

Pointing out that 737 thousand Syrians under temporary protection have returned to their country since 2016, Yerlikaya said, "Regarding Syrians under temporary protection, as you know, we have updated their addresses. Currently, the number of Syrians under temporary protection in our country is 2 million 936 thousand. All of their address updates have been completed. We will hold a press conference. We will share with the public the work we are carrying out regarding voluntary, safe, and dignified returns."

"WE SEE THAT SYRIANS HAVE DREAMS OF RETURNING TO THEIR COUNTRIES"

Emphasizing that they are following the events in Syria moment by moment, Minister Yerlikaya assessed, "After a 13-year hiatus, we see that Syrians have dreams of returning to their countries."

Reminding that there are 1 million 247 thousand 432 people from Aleppo under temporary protection, Yerlikaya said that they have shared all information regarding migration management with the public and will continue to do so.

Yerlikaya noted that they are working not only as the Ministry of Interior but also in coordination with other ministries, and that they are working on what can be done to facilitate voluntary, safe, and dignified returns, which they will announce when the time comes.