Turkish disaster agency discuss refugee influx with Iraqi Kurds

ANKARA

Turkey does not expect a massive refugee influx from Iraq but it is making necessary preparations with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said on Oct. 27.

A delegation from Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) visited Arbil last week to discuss with KRG ministers measures in the event of a refugee influx into northern Iraq and Turkey from Mosul, Kaynak said in a televised interview. 

He specifically referred to the secured area of 300 square kilometers, established by Turkey’s Euphrates Shield operation, to contain the refugee flow toward the Turkish border. An area between the Turkish border and the town of Tel Afar in Iraq has been cited to contain possible refugees, though “Plan A” is to shelter them in their own villages, Kaynak said.

Turkey earlier readied three camp areas in the region to shelter additional Syrian refugees, but no tent or facility has yet been established, he added. 

Kaynak also stressed that Ankara does not expect a refugee wave from the Mosul as huge as Turkey faced in 2011 when the Syrian crisis first erupted.