 Turkey arrests 6,000 refugees in Istanbul July 25, 2019 - 10:49 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A crackdown on unregistered refugees and migrants in Istanbul has seen more than 6,000 arrests, including that of Syrians, in the past two weeks, Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has said, according to Al Jazeera. There has been a concern in recent days over reports that hundreds of Syrian refugees have been sent back to Syria, after being forced to sign consent forms in Turkish that they could not understand. "We have been carrying out an operation since July 12 ... We have caught 6,122 people in Istanbul, including 2,600 Afghans and around 1,000 Syrians," Soylu told TV station NTV on Wednesday. "When we catch Syrians who are not registered, we send them to refugee camps," he said, citing a camp in the Turkish border province of Hatay and denying the claims of deportation. However, he said some Syrians were "voluntarily" choosing to go back to areas in Syria where fighting has abated. Turkey is home to more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees - the highest number in the world. Most have "temporary protection" permits but these restrict them to the province in which they first registered.   Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims  Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide.Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed.Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham).Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |
