More than 6,000 Syrians did not return to Turkey after Eid visit

KİLİS - Doğan News Agency

More than a tenth of Syrian refugees in Turkey who paid a visit to their homeland during Eid al-Adha early in September, did not come back, according to official figures.

For Eid, 53,786 Syrians were allowed to go back to their country through Turkey’s Öncüpınar Border Gate in the province of Kilis between Aug. 15 and Aug. 30.

As the procedures for the returning Syrians were completed between Sept. 5 and Oct. 15, records showed that 47,798 refugees returned to Turkey.

The number of Syrian migrants in Turkey has surpassed 3.2 million, according to statistics released by the Interior Ministry’s Directorate General of Migration Management.

The data said the total number of Syrian migrants who were registered with biometric IDs reached 3,208,131 as of Sept. 28.

According to the statistics, the highest number live in Istanbul, with a Syrian population of 511,308. Turkey’s largest city is followed by the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa, with a Syrian population of 445,584. In Kilis, 128,306 Syrians are registered.