SOHR calls for an end to inhumane Turkish practices

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has reported that the Turkish gendarmerie does not hesitate to use violence and brutal torture to prevent Syrians from crossing the Syrian-Turkish border area.

According to the observatory, most smuggling operations of Syrians are carried out after coordination between smugglers and Turkish gendarmerie officers, following the receipt of large sums of money. “Despite statements by the Turkish government and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, regarding preparing residences for Syrians in the so-called ‘safe zone’ in areas controlled by Turkish-backed factions on Syrian territory, Syrians continue their attempts to sneak into Turkey from different areas along the border strip stretching from western Idlib in the north-west Syria to the far northeastern of Syria,” the SOHR said.

The observatory reported that the number of civilians killed by Turkish border guards (gendarmerie) in different areas near the Syrian-Turkish border has risen to 25 since the beginning of 2023. In addition, 39 civilians, including a child and three women, were injured by Turkish gunfire during the same period.

The SOHR has strongly condemned the frequent inhumane practices of the Turkish gendarmerie and called for the protection of Syrian civilians seeking a safe haven away from military fighting and atrocities in their homeland.

It also called for an end to violations against those civilians. The SOHR stressed that those civilians are already struggling a disastrous situation and dreadful living conditions in all zones of influence throughout Syria, especially in northern Syria, which contradicts Ankara’s unfounded claims to guarantee a decent standard of living in the so-called “safe zone”.