Over 3,000 Syrians Returned Home From Turkey As Result Of Ankara's Operations - Erdogan

Over 3,000 Syrians Returned Home From Turkey as Result of Ankara's Operations - Erdogan

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th January, 2019) Over 3,000 Syrian refugees returned from Turkey to their homeland as a result of Ankara's operations in Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We have evaluated the situation with Syrian refugees. This issue affects us a lot since we accommodate 3.5 million Syrians in our country. Both in the area of the Euphrates Shield operation and in the area of the Olive Branch operation over 3,000 Syrians have already returned home, those people have already returned to normal life which is far from terrorism and various problems," Erdogan said.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations. In late 2017, the victory over the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, banned in Russia) was declared in Syria and Iraq. Certain territories in the two countries are still being cleared from militants.

The international efforts have recently been focused on political settlement in Syria, the country's reconstruction and the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.