Istanbul Orders Syrian Refugees Without Residence Permit To Leave By August 20

The governor's office of Turkey's Istanbul province issued a statement on Monday ordering Syrian refugees without local legal residence permits to leave the province by August 20 and threatening to forcibly deport them in case of non-compliance

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2019) The governor's office of Turkey's Istanbul province issued a statement on Monday ordering Syrian refugees without local legal residence permits to leave the province by August 20 and threatening to forcibly deport them in case of non-compliance.

"A total of 522,381 foreigners have an official residence permit in our province, 547,479 more Syrian nationals reside here as refugees. At the moment, Istanbul is closed for refugee registration. Unregistered Syrian nationals in Istanbul must return to the provinces of their residence by August 20," the statement read.

Non-compliance will entail forced deportation to the relevant provinces, the statement added.

The Syrian civil war, ongoing since 2011, has brought about a toll of over 5.6 million refugees and over 6 million internally displaced people. Turkey is among countries that have accepted the largest numbers of Syrian refugees.

Turkey hosts an approximate 3.6 million refugees from Syria. More than 20 tent camps and container towns with essential infrastructure, such as schools and medical care, were built to accommodate them in 10 Turkish provinces. However, only about 20 percent of the Syrian refugees reside there, while the rest disseminated across Turkey, often facing animosity and clashes with the local populations.