Turkey Deported 600 Displaced Syrians

ISTANBUL,(ST)_ A Turkish official disclosed that his country deported 600 displaced Syrians from a camp near  the border with Syria, a day after the police use Turkish military force to disperse a demonstration by displaced Syrians  who protested  against the bad  living conditions in the  Turkish  camps , built  as a tool for blackmailing  and  as a political pressure.

Reuters  said that clashes on Wednesday lasted for four hours, with dozens of Syrian protesters throwing stones, and that young men started the protest against living conditions there after faulty electrics set a tent on fire, injuring three brothers aged seven, 18 and 19, one of whom later died in hospital.

In  the same context, one  official responsible for the camp  confirmed  deportation between 600 and 700 “displaced” Syrians, pointing out that the Turkish security forces will deport more.

The United Nations refugee agency UNHCR voiced deep concern at reports of deportations and said it had taken up the issue with Turkey and was seeking more information. Such actions would be against U.N. conventions governing the treatment of refugees.

“There has been a big deportation operation here, they got rid of lots of people. They kicked out two of my boys and three of my brother’s sons. They came for my boys last night and told them to get their bags,” one refugee at the camp told Reuters by telephone,

“Today, a large number of guards came in with shields and they went around the camp forcing people out. I think around 300 families left today.”

One official at the camp said 600-700 people had been deported including those identified from security camera footage as being involved in the violence, along with their families.

“The security forces are still looking at the footage, and if they see more they will deport them,” the official said.

“Deportations to Syria is   against the principles of international law”, said Melissa Fleming, chief spokeswoman of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

It is noteworthy that the camps, which were erected originally on the border to extort Syrians fleeing crimes of  armed terrorist groups in their areas  are often experiencing various incidents such as fire .  Several camps in Turkey and Jordan witnessed  scores of  fires resulted in  killing of increasing numbers of its Syrian residents,  including children.

T. Fateh