Turkey to open border to Syrians ‘if necessary’: Erdogan
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This photo shows a temporary refugee camp for displaced Syrians in Azaz region, Syria, February 4, 2016. ©AP
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced the country’s readiness to let in tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who have massed along its border “if necessary.”
According to Press TV, he made the comments on Saturday while returning from Senegal in reaction to the gathering of a huge number of Syrians, mostly women and children, who have left their homes in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo toward the Turkish border since Friday.
“If they reached our door and have no other choice, if necessary, we have to and will let our brothers in," he said.
The governor of the Turkish Kilis border Province, Suleyman Tapsiz, said Saturday that the country has been providing aid to between 30,000 and 35,000 refugees who have assembled around the nearby Syrian city of Azaz over 48 hours.
Another 70,000 might head for the frontier, he said, adding that authorities would only open the gates if an “extraordinary crisis” erupts.
Also on Sunday, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said although the country has reached the end of its capacity to absorb refugees, it would go on letting Syrians in.
ME
