Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to return up two million refugees to Syria. Under his plan, the refugees would return to what he has called a "safe zone" created by the Turkish military during its incursion into Syria. But as Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, many Syrians are not ready to go back after spending years in Turkey.
Nearly 28,000 children from over 60 countries are stranded in northeastern Syria due to a recent escalation in the conflict, according to UNICEF. The organization urged governments to repatriate these children before it is too late.
Saed, which is not his real name, is only 25 but in some ways he looks much older. He left Syria in 2015 because he could no longer live under Assad’s regime and wanted to find a place where he could be free and state his own opinions without fear. When he arrived in Dresden he ended up homeless for a few nights, but today he shares a house with Germans and has just begun studying once again at university. In addition he leads tours of the city for school pupils with the organization Querstadtein.
In Dresden’s International Garden, allotment plots are divided between refugees, migrants, asylum seekers and foreigners as well as local Germans. It is all about putting down roots and growing things together towards a brighter future, explains one member of the governing committee who provided InfoMigrants a tour of the garden.
UNHCR reports that thousands of Syrian refugees have arrived in Iraq over the past week. The majority of them were fleeing the Turkish offensive in northeastern Syria. Three out four of these refugees are reportedly women and children.
According to the latest UN figures, Turkey's offensive against Kurdish militia in northern Syria has already resulted in at least 176,000 people being displaced, about half of whom are children. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in the past week alone, more than 60,000 people in the region had fled their homes.
Danial Alfahel is a 28-year-old Syrian refugee who fled Damascus in 2015. After a long journey, he wound up in Germany, although he was originally aiming to get to the Netherlands. Four years later he is making a new life for himself in Dresden, plays music in a band, works and takes people on tours of Dresden to talk about the city he has grown to love and the reasons that brought him here.
The UN refugee agency has increased humanitarian aid in northeastern Syria after violence intensified in the area due to the military operation launched by Turkey last week.
Turkey has begun an assault on US-backed Kurdish fighters in northeast Syria to push the Kurdish militia away from the border and eventually allow the repatriation of up to 3 million Syrian refugees in a 'safe zone'. InfoMigrants answers important questions about Turkish President Erdogan's plans and the possible consequences for the region.
Top German and EU officials have pledged Turkey support to address refugees at a time when migrant arrivals to Greece are on the rise. German Interior Minister Seehofer said Turkey is facing massive refugee pressure.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has presented a plan to transfer at least two million refugees to an area in northeast Syria, saying that Turkey doesn't intend to host refugees forever.
Turkey is facing another refugee exodus as Syrian government forces close in on Idlib, the last rebel held enclave in the country .A summit in Ankara earlier this month attended by the presidents of Turkey, Russia and Iran ended in deadlock over Turkish efforts to end the Idlib siege.