Turkey arrests 6,000 refugees in IstanbulJuly 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 | Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. |