Turkey to open its border to Syrian refugees 'if necessary': Erdogan
- 8 years ago
Turkey is ready "if necessary" to let in tens of thousands of Syrian refugees trapped on its border after fleeing a regime assault, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Thousands of Syrians, mostly women and children, have fled toward the Turkish border since Friday from the northern Syrian city of Aleppo to escape a major regime offensive backed by Russian air strikes.
"The regime has now blocked a part of Aleppo... Turkey is under threat," Erdogan told reporters on his plane returning from Senegal on Saturday, quoted by Anatolia news agency.
"If they reached our door and have no other choice, if necessary, we have to and will let our brothers in," he said.
The governor of Turkey's Kilis border province, Suleyman Tapsiz, said Saturday that Turkey -- already home to around 2.7 million Syrians according to the latest government figures -- was taking care of 30-35,000 refugees who had gathered around the nearby Syrian city of Azaz in the space of 48 hours.
Thousands of Syrians, mostly women and children, have fled toward the Turkish border since Friday from the northern Syrian city of Aleppo to escape a major regime offensive backed by Russian air strikes.
"The regime has now blocked a part of Aleppo... Turkey is under threat," Erdogan told reporters on his plane returning from Senegal on Saturday, quoted by Anatolia news agency.
"If they reached our door and have no other choice, if necessary, we have to and will let our brothers in," he said.
The governor of Turkey's Kilis border province, Suleyman Tapsiz, said Saturday that Turkey -- already home to around 2.7 million Syrians according to the latest government figures -- was taking care of 30-35,000 refugees who had gathered around the nearby Syrian city of Azaz in the space of 48 hours.