Amid unheeded appeals to the international community | Turkish authorities deport nearly 60 Syrian refugees via Bab Al-Salama crossing

Aleppo province: SOHR sources have reported that the Turkish authorities forcibly deported today nearly 60 Syrian refugees to “Euphrates Shield” area which is controlled by Turkish forces and their proxy factions in Syria, via Bab Al-Salama crossing in Azaz countryside in northern Aleppo.

The deported Syrians, mostly carrying temporary protection card ”Kimlik,” are planned to be housed in recently-established residential compounds in north Syria under the “safe and voluntarily return.”

Despite ongoing appeals by the deported Syrians to relevant authorities and human rights organisations, these appeals remain unheeded, at a time when all international powers continue their “shameful” inaction, which spurs Turkish authorities to continue deporting Syrian refugees to its “unsafe zone” in Syria.

We, at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), renew our appeals to the international community to interfere immediately and stop the forcible deportation of Syrian refuges from Turkey.

On July 21, SOHR sources reported that Turkish government claims that it sends Syrians to the so-called “safe zone” in north Syria where they can enjoy safety and security. However, the situation on the ground is completely contradictory, where residents in all areas controlled by Turkish forces and their proxies in Syria are struggling with a deteriorating security situation, as well as the blatant violations and atrocities practiced by Turkish-backed militiamen; this makes the region unsafe for the return of refugees, especially with the dreadful living and economic conditions across Syria and almost-complete lack of essentials in refugee camps and residential compounds which host thousands of displaced people.