Turkey Accuses SDF of Obstructing Voluntary Return of Syrian Refugees

A Syrian woman in a camp for displaced people in “Kafr Uruq” in Idlib governorate, northern Syria (Reuters)
A Syrian woman in a camp for displaced people in “Kafr Uruq” in Idlib governorate, northern Syria (Reuters)
TT
20

Turkey Accuses SDF of Obstructing Voluntary Return of Syrian Refugees

A Syrian woman in a camp for displaced people in “Kafr Uruq” in Idlib governorate, northern Syria (Reuters)
A Syrian woman in a camp for displaced people in “Kafr Uruq” in Idlib governorate, northern Syria (Reuters)

Turkey accused the Kurdish forces in Syria of obstructing the return of Syrian refugees, noting that it had begun working with Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon to secure their “voluntary return.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed that his country will continue its war against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), the largest component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), while working to implement the plan for the voluntary and safe return of one million Syrians.

Speaking in an international migration review forum at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Cavusoglu confirmed that Turkish efforts had provided stability in the Syrian areas that were cleared of what he labeled as “terrorist organizations.”

So far, nearly 500,000 Syrians have returned to their areas, added the top diplomat.

The Turkish minister pointed out that attention should be paid to the factors causing displacement, such as economic and security struggles.

He stressed the need for a global and sustainable approach to encourage the voluntary, safe and dignified return of migrants.

Moreover, Cavusoglu pointed to Turkish efforts resulting in the completion of the construction of more than 57,000 housing units in northern Syria.

Turkey is targeting the building of 100,000 homes in northern Syria by the end of 2022, added Cavusoglu.

He called on the UN Security Council to renew the mechanism of cross-border humanitarian assistance to Syria, stressing its vital importance to about 2.4 million Syrians.

About 3.7 million Syrians live in Turkey, most of whom fled the war that Syria has been witnessing for over a decade.

Alll Syrian refugees in Turkey do not have the right to asylum. Instead, authorities granted them temporary protection cards.

For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had reaffirmed that his government won’t force the refugees to Syria.



UN Says 875 Palestinians Have Been Killed Near Gaza Aid Sites

Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are pictured at sunset from a position across the border in southern Israel on July 15, 2025. (AFP)
Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are pictured at sunset from a position across the border in southern Israel on July 15, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

UN Says 875 Palestinians Have Been Killed Near Gaza Aid Sites

Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are pictured at sunset from a position across the border in southern Israel on July 15, 2025. (AFP)
Destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip are pictured at sunset from a position across the border in southern Israel on July 15, 2025. (AFP)

The UN rights office said on Tuesday it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks at aid points in Gaza run by the US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and convoys run by other relief groups, including the United Nations.

The majority of those killed were in the vicinity of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, while the remaining 201 were killed on the routes of other aid convoys.

The GHF uses private US security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led fighters loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the allegation.

The GHF, which began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May after Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade, previously told Reuters that such incidents have not occurred on its sites and accused the UN of misinformation, which it denies.

The GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest UN figures.

"The data we have is based on our own information gathering through various reliable sources, including medical human rights and humanitarian organizations," Thameen Al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva.

The United Nations has called the GHF aid model "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards.

The GHF said on Tuesday it had delivered more than 75 million meals to Gaza Palestinians since the end of May, and that other humanitarian groups had "nearly all of their aid looted" by Hamas or criminal gangs.

The Israeli army previously told Reuters in a statement that it was reviewing recent mass casualties and that it had sought to minimize friction between Palestinians and the Israeli army by installing fences and signs and opening additional routes.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has previously cited instances of violent pillaging of aid, and the UN World Food Program said last week that most trucks carrying food assistance into Gaza had been intercepted by "hungry civilian communities".