Baladi News - Journals
Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Saturday that around 300,000 Syrians have returned to their country after the last two cross-border operations in northern Syria.
Turkey has carried out two operations, dubbed "Euphrates Shield" and "Olive Branch," against Kurdish YPG militia and ISIS in northern Syria. Ankara regards the US-backed YPG as a terrorist organization.
Turkey hosts more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees who have fled the conflict in their homeland. Some Turks view them as an economic burden and a threat to jobs.
"The number of Syrians that returned to their country after the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations is 291,790," Soylu was quoted by state-owned Anadolu news agency as saying.
The Turkish military pushed into Syria northwest in two offensives, carving out a de facto buffer zone.
Sorce: Asharq Alawsat.