Turkish border guards on the border with Syria open fire indiscriminately and compel asylum seekers trying to go to Turkey to return to their country by summary procedures, Amnesty International today denounces.
New York-based Human Rights Watch complains that Syrians are leaving the northwestern province of Idlib where violent clashes culminate to seek shelter near the border with Turkey, which remains closed except for heavily injured.
In recent months, the Syrian armed forces have been pushed into the interior of the province, which is mainly under the control of guerrillas, and last month Turkey undertook military action in the neighboring area of Afrino targeting militants of the Kurdish YPG militia.
"Syrians on the Turkish border looking for security and asylum are being bullied and ill-treated to return," says Lama Faqich, deputy head of the Middle East branch of the organization.
Asked about the organization's allegations, the spokesman for Turkish President Erdogan said Turkish soldiers are there to protect these people and that Ankara has adopted "open door policy" since the start of the 2011 Syrian civil war.
"It is unlikely that our soldiers will shoot people We never ask anyone if they are Kurdish or Arabic or Muslim or Christian if they come from one or the other region I do not know if it is an isolated incident or not ".
HRW refers to figures from the United Nations, according to which 247,000 Syrians were displaced in the border area between 15 December and 15 January 2018.
"As the war in Idlib and Afrin provokes the displacement of thousands, the number of Syrians who are trapped on the border and risk their lives to reach Turkey is almost certain to increase," Fakih says.
Thirteen of the 16 Syrian refugees contacted the organization accused Turkish border guards of firing fire against them or against other asylum seekers who attempted to cross the border while still on Syrian territory killing ten of them a child and injuring many others.
Turkey has received most refugees from Syria in relation to any other country - some 3.5 million since 2011 - and many of them have offered temporary protection status and basic services such as education and medical care.
"However, Turkey's generous hospitality of large numbers of Syrians does not exempt it from the obligation to assist those seeking protection at its borders," HRW said.
The organization argues that the Erdogan government should issue instructions to border guards at all crossing points that they should not use violence against asylum seekers and that they should not abuse any of them.
Turkish WarriorsFireless War ZoneAnnational Amnesty
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