HRW: Turkey Continues to Turn Away Syrians at the Border
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released fresh findings that Turkey is forcibly turning back Syrians seeking refuge at the border.
The organization had earlier documented violent pushbacks last year that led to at least 10 deaths. In its new report, HRW spoke to 21 Syrians who had tried to escape to Turkey since December. As in the earlier report, some described being shot at by border guards, resulting in several fatalities.
Turkey closed its borders to Syrian refugees in 2015 and is building a wall along the perimeter. The Ankara government denied that border guards used force against Syrians and said nearly 92,000 Syrians had entered via designated border gates in 2018 so far and received temporary protection.
“As border guards try to seal the last remaining gaps in Turkey’s border, hundreds of thousands of Syrians are trapped in fields to face the bombs on the Syrian side,” said HRW’s associate director of refugee rights, Gerry Simpson. “The European Union should press Turkey to open its border to those in need.”
Young Syrian Man Attempts Suicide on Lesbos
There has been another suicide attempt among Syrian refugees held at a squalid reception center on the Greek island of Lesbos.
A 26-year-old man set himself on fire outside the asylum office in Moria, which houses more than 5,000 refugees and migrants in a former military base meant for 3,000 people. He survived and received treatment for his injuries.
Last week, also in Moria, a Syrian’s suicide attempt sparked clashes in the camp that injured 11 people and prompted the evacuation of women and children.
Algeria Says It Has Returned 27,000 Migrants Since 2015
Algeria’s interior minister said the country has sent home 27,000 sub-Saharan African migrants since 2015 and the repatriation effort was continuing.
Some migrants come to Algeria to work while others pass through the country en route to Morocco or Libya and the Mediterranean route. Human Rights Watch said last month that Algerian authorities were rounding up undocumented migrants without allowing them to appeal against their deportation.
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