200,000 Syrians Return Home from Turkey Amid Ongoing Recovery

(MENAFN) The number of Syrians returning from Turkey since December 9 of last year has reached 200,000, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday.

"Despite various difficulties, hinderances, and sabotage," Syria is making gradual progress in its recovery, Erdogan noted in a speech at an event focused on Turkey’s migration strategy in the Century of Türkiye.

"As Syria recovers, the number of returnees has begun to accelerate," he remarked.

Syria’s long-standing leader, Bashar Assad, who had ruled the country for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, marking the end of the Baath Party’s rule that had lasted since 1963.

A transitional government was established in late January, which dissolved the previous Constitution, security services, military factions, parliament, and the Baath Party.

Erdogan also highlighted that there are over 281 million migrants globally, according to the International Organization for Migration. He pointed out that more than 165 million people are migrant workers.

He further mentioned that the number of refugees has surged to 120 million in the past few years due to the impacts of war, stating, "Again, the data shows that at least 20 people are forced to migrate every minute due to conflict, oppression, or terrorism."

Noting that 3.6% of the global population now lives as migrants, Erdogan stressed that these numbers rise sharply when wars persist, crises remain unresolved, and climate change exacerbates the situation.

"Although the migration crisis is largely driven by the policies of Western powers, they are notably absent when it comes to shouldering the burden," he noted, adding that 75 out of every 100 refugees globally are hosted by low- and middle-income nations, not wealthy ones.

Throughout the 13-year Syrian civil war, Turkey has taken in more than 4 million Syrians—more than any other country.

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