Roundup: Turkey braces for more refugees fleeing IS attacks in Syria
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E-mail Xinhua, September 22, 2014
The number of Syrian refugees who crossed into Turkey topped 130,000 in the past three days as civilians from northern Syria continue to flee attacks by Islamic State (IS) fighters, Turkey's emergency management agency said on Monday.
The Prime Ministry's Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said a coordination center was set up in an area close to border crossing in Sanliurfa province in southeastern Turkey.
It said that refugees are being registered and screened for security and medical checks before being placed in temporary shelters or allowed to go with their relatives in Turkey.
The wave of refugees represents one of the biggest challenges for Turkey that is already home to some 1.37 million Syrians, according to authorities.
According to Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey has spent 4 billion U.S. dollars on refugees so far. It only took 150 million dollars from international donors.
The militant IS, previously known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has run over dozens of villages close to Turkish border and advanced on strategically located Ain al-Arab, a Kurdish town also known as Kobani.
Turkish security forces have been challenged by the fact that many of the country's Kurds want to cross into Syria to fight along with the Democratic Union Party (PYD), an offshoot of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), against IS.
On Sunday, the PKK issued a statement calling on Kurds to take up arms against the IS to defend Kurdish villages and towns.
Turkish law enforcement forces prevented hundreds of Kurds in Suruc town in Sanliurfa from entering Syria on Sunday, using tear gas and water cannons.
Turkey considers both the PKK and IS as terrorist organizations and fears that clashes between two groups would further endanger Turkish national security.
Over the weekend, Turkey beefed up security along the border area with armored vehicles and troops dispatched to Sanliurfa province. Special force units from the national police department were also sent to the town of Suruc.
Former Turkish foreign minister Yasar Yakis said on Monday that Turkey may ask the PKK to disarm itself in Turkey but may support the militant organization's fight against IS abroad. "These seemingly opposite demands can be reconciled," he said.
QUESTIONS ON OPEN DOOR POLICY
The Turkish opposition questioned the government's open door policy on refugees, saying that the policy raises too many questions.
The deputy chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party, Emin Haluk Ayhan, said on Monday that the government never consulted parliament when opening the border.
Asking about security measures on how to control refugees, the Turkish lawmaker said the government should not be adopting double standards when it comes to refuges.
The opposition criticized the government in the past for not accepting members of Turkmen minority group that fled IS in Iraq.
DOWNPLAYING IS THREATS
Sanliurfa Governor Izzettin Kucuk on Monday downplayed threats posed by IS, saying that security forces are patrolling the border area and ready to tackle hostilities in line with government rules of engagement. "Right now there are no reason to be concerned around border area," the governor said.
Kucuk said the government has set up a shelter to accommodate 10,000 people but only 5,000 refugees settled in there.
"This shows the large number of Syrian refugees went to live in with their relatives (in Turkey)," he said.
In the meantime, the Turkish cabinet met on Monday to discuss a number of issues including the status of Syrian refugees, private Cihan news agency reported.
UNHCR APPLAUDS TURKISH EFFORTS
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) representative in Turkey, Carol Batchelor, issued a call on Sunday for international support for the refugees.
"This is an international responsibility," Batchelor told the official Anadolu news agency. "We appeal to all countries to increase their aid."
At the UNHCR's headquarters in Geneva, Antonio Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said he commended Turkey's welcoming response to offer refuge and aid to fleeing civilians.
"This massive influx shows how important it is to offer and preserve asylum space for Syrians as well as the need to mobilize international support to the neighboring countries so generously hosting them," he said.
Meanwhile, Turkey has been calling for the establishment of a buffer zone in Syria and Iraq to take care of the refugees rather than do so inside Turkey. It also seeks to set up a no-fly zone over the protected area.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in New York to attend the opening of the UN General Assembly, is expected to hold a series of meetings on the refugee issue.
However, obtaining a UN Security Council approval for a buffer zone or no-fly zone seems very distant at the moment. Endi
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