TURKEY: More than 600,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey says the country's disaster management agency

Record ID: 274451

  • Title: TURKEY: More than 600,000 Syrian refugees in Turkey says the country's disaster management agency
  • Date: 21st October 2013
  • Summary: KILIS, TURKEY (FILE - SEPTEMBER 19, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF EXTERIORS OF CONTAINER CITY IN KILIS WHERE MORE THAN 10,000 REFUGEES ARE SHELTERING
  • Embargoed: 5th November 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAA5CXIV7ZQ1ELI89N2SMN5SXM0
  • Story Text: The number of Syrian refugees in Turkey has exceeded 600,000 and more than 400,000 of them are living outside refugee camps, the Turkish disaster management agency said on Monday (October 21).

    "As of today, 201,000 Syrian refugees are sheltering in camps that have been built in 17 provinces after April 2011," said Mustafa Aydogdu, spokesman for the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD).

    "Apart from that, more than 400,000 Syrians are living in Turkey outside the camps. Governor's offices and Ministry of Health are providing medical services to those who are living outside the camps as well and this is coordinated by AFAD. Governor's offices are also providing them humanitarian aid," he added.
    Turkey, which shares a 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria, is a strong critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a main supporter of the rebels opposing him.
    Turkey has said it will maintain its "open door" policy to those fleeing the Syrian civil war, now in its third year, although it has closed border crossings from time to time following clashes near the frontier.
    About 200,000 Syrians were living in 21 refugee camps, mainly near border cities, Aydogdu said, while the rest chose to live in rented accommodation outside the camps.
    Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said in August Turkey has already spent around $2 billion on sheltering the refugees. The United Nations expects another 2 million Syrians to become refugees in 2014 and 2.25 million more to be displaced within the country.
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