Turkey establishes huge tent city in Syria’s Afrin

ANKARA

Turkey has established a tent city in Syria’s Afrin district for Syrians who fled from the Eastern Qalamoun region near the capital Damascus, Turkish General Staff announced on April 25.

The tent city was set up by the Turkish Prime Ministry’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), according to photos and posts shared on the social media accounts of the Turkish General Staff.

“AFAD has established and Mehmetçik [Turkish soldiers] have been protecting it. The families from Eastern Qalamoun are being provided shelter in the tent city established in Mahmoudiya, Afrin,” a post read.

The Turkish military has been protecting the area surrounding the tent city, photos showed.

The Turkish military and the allied Free Syrian Army (FSA) have taken the northwestern district of Afrin under full control on March 18 after an offensive against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG).

Rebels fighting against the Syrian regime in the enclave of East Qalamoun recently agreed to lay down arms and to be transferred by buses to territories controlled by opposition forces.