The warm Turkish welcome for refugees is ending and Syrians are worried

The warm Turkish welcome for refugees is ending and Syrians are worried
An officer checks the papers of a Syrian woman before she crosses into Syria from Turkiye, at the Oncupinar border gate in southern Turkiye on Dec. 11, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 20 December 2024
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The warm Turkish welcome for refugees is ending and Syrians are worried

The warm Turkish welcome for refugees is ending and Syrians are worried
  • Syrian president’s ouster this month has led many in Turkiye to argue that the refugees have no reason to stay
  • Some Syrians are panicking about returning to a devastated nation

GAZIANTEP, Turkiye: Turkiye gained renown as a haven for refugees by welcoming more than 3 million Syrians fleeing violence between forces from Bashar Assad ‘s government and a patchwork of rebel groups.

But the Syrian president’s ouster this month has led many in Turkiye to argue that the refugees have no reason to stay, part of the global backlash against migration. Some Syrians are panicking about returning to a devastated nation.

“There’s no work, electricity, or water. There is no leader. Who will it be? I have no idea,” said Mahmut Cabuli, who fled airstrikes by Syrian government forces and violence by rebel groups in his hometown Aleppo a decade ago. “I’m scared and don’t know what the authorities will do.”

‘My children were born here’

Cabuli spent several years in a refugee camp before he found a job at a textile factory in Gaziantep, a southern Turkish city near the Syrian border. After he met another Syrian refugee, they married and had two children.

“My children were born here,” he said. “I am working, thank God. I am happy here. I don’t want to go back now.”

Many Turks baselessly accuse Syrians of taking their jobs and straining health care and other public services. Riots have damaged Syrian-owned shops, homes or cars, including one in July in the central city of Kayseri following allegations that a Syrian refugee sexually assaulted a child. The riots sparked counterprotests in northern Syria.

Turkish authorities said that the alleged perpetrator was arrested and the victim placed under state protection.

“A spark between Syrians and Turkish citizens can immediately cause a big fire, a big flame,” said Umit Yılmaz, the mayor of Sehitkamil, which hosts 450,000 Syrians.

“The Syrians need to be reunited with their homeland immediately,” he said. “I have come to a point where I am even willing to get in my own car and take them away if necessary.”

Was staying in Turkiye temporary or for good?

In 2014, Turkish authorities gave Syrians universal access to health care, education and the right to work by granting them a legal status known as temporary protection.

As a result, Turkiye has taken in more Syrian refugees than any other nation — more than 3.8 million at its peak in 2022, or roughly 60 percent of all the Syrians logged by UN refugee agency UNHCR.

But more recently, anti-refugee sentiment has surged as Turkiye has grappled with problems including persistent inflation — particularly in food and housing — and with high youth unemployment.

“This prolonged stay under temporary protection must end,” said Azmi Mahmutoglu, spokesman for the Victory Party, a right-wing party that has opposed the presence of Syrians in Turkiye and called for their repatriation.

Hundreds of Syrians have gathered at border gates along Turkiye’s 911-kilometer (566 mile) frontier with Syria since Assad’s fall and the returns are expected to accelerate if Syria becomes stable.

Metin Corabatir, director of the Ankara-based Research Center on Asylum and Migration, said most of the departures so far appear to be Syrians checking the situation back in Syria before deciding whether to move their families back.

Muhammed Nur Cuneyt, a 24-year-old Syrian who arrived in 2011 from the northern town of Azaz, was eagerly waiting at one gate on Dec. 10, saying he was grateful to Turkiye for granting refuge but resented hearing anti-Syrian sentiment as his people fought Assad.

“Some were saying ‘Why are the Syrians here? Why don’t you go back and fight with your nation?’” he said.

Are they voluntary returns?

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought ways to encourage the refugees’ voluntary returns — including building housing in Syria close to the Turkish border after Syrian migration helped weaken support for his Justice and Development party.

Erdogan has four more years in office but the main opposition party has a slight lead in polls.

One refugee who returned to Syria said that he had signed a document ending his protected refugee status under Turkish law.

“Would they be allowed to come back to Turkiye? Corabatir said. “Our hope is that it will continue.”

This week, UNHCR said it does not believe that conditions to end Syrian’s refugee status have been met and it still thinks they need protection.

But for Huseyin Basut, the Turkish owner of a pet shop in Gaziantep, Turkiye has done all that it can for the Syrians.

“We did all we could as a country and as citizens,” said Bayut, 52. “Since the war is over, they should return to their homes, build their homes or whatever they need to do and may God help them.”


Israeli military prepares to relocate residents to southern Gaza, spokesperson says

Israeli military prepares to relocate residents to southern Gaza, spokesperson says
Updated 14 sec ago
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Israeli military prepares to relocate residents to southern Gaza, spokesperson says

Israeli military prepares to relocate residents to southern Gaza, spokesperson says
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UN and relief groups to assist with relocation logistics

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Hamas demands independent state for disarmament

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GAZA: The Israeli military will provide Gaza residents with tents and other equipment starting from Sunday ahead of relocating them from combat zones to “safe” ones in the south of the enclave, military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Saturday.
This comes days after Israel said it intended to launch a new offensive to seize control of northern Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban center, in a plan that raised international alarm over the fate of the demolished strip, home to about 2.2 million people.
The equipment will be transferred via the Israeli crossing of Kerem Shalom by the United Nations and other international relief organizations after being thoroughly inspected by defense ministry personnel, Adraee added in a post on X.
Israel’s COGAT, the military agency that coordinates aid, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the preparations were part of the new plan.
Taking over the city of about one million Palestinians complicates ceasefire efforts to end the nearly two-year war, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu follows through with his plan to take on Hamas’ two remaining strongholds.
Netanyahu said Israel had no choice but to complete the job and defeat Hamas as the Palestinian militant group has refused to lay down its arms.
Hamas said it would not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state was established.
Israel already controls about 75 percent of Gaza.
The war began when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israeli authorities say 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are alive.
Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s health ministry says. It has also caused a
hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza’s entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations.

Paramilitary group in Sudan shells famine-stricken camp in Darfur, killing 31 people

Paramilitary group in Sudan shells famine-stricken camp in Darfur, killing 31 people
Updated 23 min 15 sec ago
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Paramilitary group in Sudan shells famine-stricken camp in Darfur, killing 31 people

Paramilitary group in Sudan shells famine-stricken camp in Darfur, killing 31 people
  • Sudan’s civil war broke out in April 2023 over a power struggle between commanders of the military and the RSF

CAIRO: A paramilitary fighting against Sudan’s military shelled a famine-stricken displacement camp in the western region of Dafur Saturday, killing at least 31 people, including seven children and a pregnant woman, a medical group said, in a second attack on the camp in less than a week.

The Rapid Support Forces artillery shelling of the Abu Shouk camp outside El-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur province, also wounded 13 others, the Sudan Doctors Network said in a statement.

The Resistance Committees in el-Fasher, a grassroots group tracking the war, said RSF launched an hours-long “extensive artillery shelling” on the camp early morning.

It said in a Facebook post that the attack also resulted in severe damage to private properties and the camp’s infrastructure.

The RSF didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The RSF attacked Abu Shouk last week and killed more than 40 people, as the paramilitaries have tried to seize el-Fasher, the military’s last stronghold in Darfur.

Abu-Shouk is one of two camps for displaced people outside El-Fasher. They have repeatedly been attacked by the RSF and their Janjwaeed allies, including a major offensive in April which killed hundreds of people and forced hundreds of thousands others to flee. Both camps Abu Shouk and Zamzam have been hit by famine.

Sudan’s civil war broke out in April 2023 over a power struggle between commanders of the military and the RSF. The fighting wrecked the Northeastern African country, forced about 14 million people out of their homes, and pushed some of its parts into famine.

Thousands of people were killed in the conflict and there have been atrocities, including mass killings and rape, particularly in Darfur. The International Criminal Court is investigating potential crimes and crimes against humanity in the conflict.


Jordanian business chief hails EU as key partner in supporting Jordan’s economy

Jordanian business chief hails EU as key partner in supporting Jordan’s economy
Updated 16 August 2025
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Jordanian business chief hails EU as key partner in supporting Jordan’s economy

Jordanian business chief hails EU as key partner in supporting Jordan’s economy
  • Partnership a ‘living model of constructive cooperation,’ says Ali Murad
  • Financial aid, investments highlight Brussels’ support for Jordan’s economic goals

AMMAN: The EU remains one of Jordan’s most important economic partners, playing a vital role in supporting the country’s economy through financial assistance, grants, and investments, Jordanian European Business Association President Ali Murad said on Saturday.

Murad described the Jordan-EU partnership as a “living model of constructive cooperation” that has helped Jordan confront economic crises amid regional and international challenges, the Jordan News Agency reported.

He also praised King Abdullah II’s “great efforts” to strengthen cooperation, particularly in the economic sector.

The JEBA president said that the partnership has witnessed “remarkable development” since the signing of a strategic agreement earlier this year, reflecting the EU’s commitment to supporting Jordan’s economic goals.

On Wednesday, the Cabinet approved a financing agreement and memorandum of understanding covering €500 million ($585 million) in EU financial assistance, part of a €3 billion package agreed for 2025–2027.

The package, signed in the presence of King Abdullah in January, includes €640 million in grants, €1.4 billion in investments, and around €1 billion in macroeconomic support.

“Through this financial package, the EU demonstrates its commitment to strengthening the strategic partnership with Jordan and its appreciation for the Kingdom’s pivotal role in the region,” Murad said.

He added that the agreement was a “significant step” in advancing Jordan-EU ties, with positive impacts expected on the national economy and treasury as implementation begins.

According to official data, trade between Jordan and the EU reached JD1.129 billion ($1.6 billion) in the first four months of 2025, up from JD1.025 billion during the same period last year.

National exports to EU markets rose 14.4 percent to JD143 million, compared with JD125 million a year earlier.


Young Gaza woman flown to Italy for treatment, dies

Young Gaza woman flown to Italy for treatment, dies
Updated 16 August 2025
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Young Gaza woman flown to Italy for treatment, dies

Young Gaza woman flown to Italy for treatment, dies
ROME: A young Palestinian woman with severe wasting who was flown from Gaza to Italy this week for treatment has died, the hospital said on Saturday.

The 20-year-old, named by Italian media as Marah Abu Zuhri, arrived in Pisa on an Italian government humanitarian flight overnight Wednesday-Thursday.

She had a “very complex clinical picture” and was “in a profound state of organic wasting,” the University Hospital of Pisa said in a statement.

On Friday, after undergoing tests and starting treatment, she had a sudden respiratory crisis and cardiac arrest, and died.

The hospital did not elaborate on her condition, but Italian news agencies reported that she was suffering from severe malnutrition.

Humanitarian groups, UN agencies and Palestinian militant group Hamas have warned of the risk of widespread famine in war-battered Gaza.

The young woman had come to Italy with her mother on one of three Italian air force flights that arrived this week with a total of 31 patients and their companions.

They all suffered from serious congenital diseases, wounds or amputations, the Italian foreign ministry said at the time.

So far more than 180 children and young people from Gaza have been brought to Italy since the war began between Israel and Hamas.

The head of the Tuscany region, Eugenio Giani, offered his condolences to the young woman’s family.

Bus plunges into river in Algeria capital, killing 18

Bus plunges into river in Algeria capital, killing 18
Updated 16 August 2025
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Bus plunges into river in Algeria capital, killing 18

Bus plunges into river in Algeria capital, killing 18
  • The accident happened in late afternoon in the Mohammadia district of east Algiers

ALGIERS: Eighteen people were killed and nine injured in the Algerian capital on Friday when a bus plunged from a bridge into a river, the emergency services said.

The accident happened in late afternoon in the Mohammadia district of east Algiers and two of the injured were in critical condition, they added.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the accident.