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Turkey to build new camp for Syrian refugees

Xinhua, July 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

Turkey is building a new camp capable of hosting 55,000 Syrian refugees, while expecting an influx of some 100,000 due to imminent attacks by the Islamic State (IS) group against the border area, local media said on Wednesday.

Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) is working on the new refugee camp in Kilis in Gaziantep province, officials told local Hurriyet Daily News.

"In fact, we are not very keen to announce such new camps because it would be regarded as encouraging Syrians to leave their homes even if there is no need," the AFAD chairman said.

According to AFAD, some 100,000 Syrian refugees may cross into Turkey through the Oncupinar border gate in the first 24 hours after a potential IS attack on Azaz province, one of most populous regions in northwestern Syria.

The new camp is designed to address the needs of these potential newcomers, officials said.

Ankara has envisaged cooperation between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government and the IS group, which would pave the way for the IS to control northern Aleppo from the Free Syrian Army, a loosely organized rebel movement, and has cleared its way through aerial bombings since mid-June.

The biggest threat to Turkey is any IS offensive which may trigger a massive influx of refugees from the wider region that is home to 4.5 million Syrians.

"Such a refugee inflow scares us, that would create a huge risk on our side, even though we have existing capabilities," officials told local media, saying that AFAD is doing everything it can to meet the humanitarian needs of potential immigrants.

Turkey's army said on Tuesday that it had captured almost 800 people, including IS militants, who were trying to cross into Turkey illegally from Syria in recent days. They are boosting security in border areas.

Turkey is already hosting nearly two million Syrian refugees after the civil war there broke out in early 2011. Around 278,000 of them are taking shelter in 25 camps mostly in Turkey's border provinces. Endit