7,600 Syrians returned via Turkish borders since Assad’s fall

ANKARA

More than 7,600 Syrian migrants crossed the Turkish border to return home in the five days after the fall of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced.

Yerlikaya listed the total number of Syrians "who returned voluntarily from Türkiye" each day between Dec. 9 and 13, with the five-day figure totaling 7,621 migrants.

Türkiye has recently expanded its border crossing capacities to accommodate the surge in Syrian refugees seeking to return home following the Assad fall on Dec. 8. Türkiye shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Syria with five operational crossings.

Hundreds flocked to Türkiye’s southern border with Syria, with Türkiye having championed a policy it terms “voluntary, safe and dignified” returns of migrants.

Türkiye is home to nearly three million refugees who fled after the start of the civil war in 201.

The EU's migration chief said last week that forcibly returning Syrians to their home country was "not possible" for the time being, after member state Austria said it was planning to do so.

Austria's chancellor announced a 1,000 euros ($1,048) “return bonus” for Syrian refugees who wish to return to their home country.