Turkey opens 25,000-person capacity camp for Aleppo refugees
Despite ongoing terror threats caused by the PKK terrorist group and the suspended evacuation of civilians from war-torn Aleppo, Turkey inaugurated another temporary refugee center with a capacity of 25,000 over the weekend. Although the inauguration of the Kahramanmaraş Container City for refugees came prior to World Refugees Day, the fully equipped container city already hosts 18,750 refugees. Speaking to the media prior to the opening ceremony for the refugee camp, Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said that Turkey does not expect a wide-ranging refugee influx from Aleppo, as the government is trying to prevent a second wave of refugees from occurring.
Amid the suspended evacuation of civilians and opposition fighters from east Aleppo following pro-regime Iran-backed militias reportedly opening fire on the evacuation convoy, Deputy Prime Minister Kaynak stated late Saturday evening that "a permanent safe-zone through Operation Euphrates Shield was established and those civilians from Aleppo will be placed there." Underlining that the number of those who have escaped is not expected to be more than 30,000, Kaynak said: "The camps will be established in the village of Kafaldin near Atmeh camp. Thus, the areas around Idlib."
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım was supposed to attend the inauguration of the new container city built by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) on Saturday. However, the country began the morning with a PKK bomb-laden car attack in front of a public bus targeting soldiers near Kayseri's Erciyes University, killing 13 soldiers and wounding 55 others. When addressing a large crowd in Kahramanmaraş Prime Minister Yıldırım strongly condemned the terror attack and stressed that Turkey will continue its development regardless of terror incidents, adding, "We will continue our pace of life normally." In that respect, the prime minister's wife, Semiha Yıldırım, and Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya attended the inauguration of the AFAD-built refugee camp in Kahramanmaraş and visited families residing there.
The prime minister's wife and Minister Sayan Kaya were warmly welcomed by refugees, and children and elders expressed their appreciations to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the government and people.
Speaking to Daily Sabah, Syrian-Turkmen Hena Mojda (24), who escaped from Lazkiya five years ago along with her two children and husband and initially stayed in a tent camp, praised the new container city and expressed deep gratitude to Turkey. "We had very hard times in Syria, but thankfully we are very well here right now," she said and described the incidents in Aleppo as "devastating." Hena said she and her family would love to return home once the war is over and she strongly bashed regime leader Bashar al Assad, saying, "If he [Assad] was Muslim he would not kill the people and babies." The container city built in Kahramanmaraş's Dulkadiroğlu district has 5,008 containers capable of hosting 25,000 people. It has 16 public training centers and four schools with eight children's playgrounds, four soccer fields and four basketball courts. The container city, which has its own sub-governor, also includes a mosque, a grocery store and two rehabilitation centers. As the camp is secured by private security personnel 24/7, each container house has its own solar power systems. The camp has nearly 800 personnel in various areas and two fire trucks along with 12 fighters on stand-by at all times.
Amid the suspended evacuation of civilians and opposition fighters from east Aleppo following pro-regime Iran-backed militias reportedly opening fire on the evacuation convoy, Deputy Prime Minister Kaynak stated late Saturday evening that "a permanent safe-zone through Operation Euphrates Shield was established and those civilians from Aleppo will be placed there." Underlining that the number of those who have escaped is not expected to be more than 30,000, Kaynak said: "The camps will be established in the village of Kafaldin near Atmeh camp. Thus, the areas around Idlib."
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım was supposed to attend the inauguration of the new container city built by the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) on Saturday. However, the country began the morning with a PKK bomb-laden car attack in front of a public bus targeting soldiers near Kayseri's Erciyes University, killing 13 soldiers and wounding 55 others. When addressing a large crowd in Kahramanmaraş Prime Minister Yıldırım strongly condemned the terror attack and stressed that Turkey will continue its development regardless of terror incidents, adding, "We will continue our pace of life normally." In that respect, the prime minister's wife, Semiha Yıldırım, and Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya attended the inauguration of the AFAD-built refugee camp in Kahramanmaraş and visited families residing there.
The prime minister's wife and Minister Sayan Kaya were warmly welcomed by refugees, and children and elders expressed their appreciations to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the government and people.
Speaking to Daily Sabah, Syrian-Turkmen Hena Mojda (24), who escaped from Lazkiya five years ago along with her two children and husband and initially stayed in a tent camp, praised the new container city and expressed deep gratitude to Turkey. "We had very hard times in Syria, but thankfully we are very well here right now," she said and described the incidents in Aleppo as "devastating." Hena said she and her family would love to return home once the war is over and she strongly bashed regime leader Bashar al Assad, saying, "If he [Assad] was Muslim he would not kill the people and babies." The container city built in Kahramanmaraş's Dulkadiroğlu district has 5,008 containers capable of hosting 25,000 people. It has 16 public training centers and four schools with eight children's playgrounds, four soccer fields and four basketball courts. The container city, which has its own sub-governor, also includes a mosque, a grocery store and two rehabilitation centers. As the camp is secured by private security personnel 24/7, each container house has its own solar power systems. The camp has nearly 800 personnel in various areas and two fire trucks along with 12 fighters on stand-by at all times.