Refugee influx makes Turkey set more camps

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey is currently home to more than 90,000 Syrian refugees in several camps. AFP photo

The Turkish government is setting up four more refugee camps in Gaziantep and Nizip in order to respond to the influx of Syrians crossing the border, as Ankara struggles to accommodate the tide of Syrian refugees still entering Turkey.

Turkey currently delivers humanitarian aid, medicine and food supplies to nearly 9,000 Syrians waiting to enter Turkey on the Syrian side of the border, a Turkish official told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Turkey officially shelters more than 90,000 Syrians at a total of 13 refugee camps in different southern provinces of the country. However, these have become increasingly crowded, necessitating the establishment of new camps. The Turkish official also pointed out that they were particularly keen not to overfill the camps in Hatay, as the city is an entrance point on the border for Syrians fleeing the civil war in their homeland.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had previously stated that Turkey could handle no more than 100,000 refugees from Syria. This figure was a physical rather than psychological barrier, according to the official, as the country would have logistical difficulties hosting so many refugees. However, he also indicated that Turkey would continue to maintain its open door policy for Syrians, regardless of numbers.

Turkey is currently home to 93,576 refugees housed in several camps in the southeast along the Syrian border, according to figures released yesterday by the Turkish Prime Ministry’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate. However, it is thought that nearly 120,000 Syrians have in fact fled to Turkey, over 25,000 of which are unregistered with the authorities and therefore staying illegally.