Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Sunday rejected recent reports on an upsurge in migrant flows into Türkiye.
“Some comments and political remarks point to photographs and videos taken in other countries and at different times. These are absolutely false, not right,” Akar said during iftar, a dinner to mark the breaking of the daily fast, with quake victims in southern Hatay province’s Kırıkhan district.
The minister underlined that Turkish soldiers protect the country’s borders while using the latest technology to prevent trespassing. He said claims that a migrant flow was taking place toward Türkiye after the recent devastating earthquakes were investigated and found not trustworthy.
Akar added that these issues should not be used for political motives.
His comments came after Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairperson Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on Sunday claimed. Afghan migrants were crossing Turkish borders.
“There is news that Afghan fugitives are flowing into our country. I call on our soldiers. This homeland is our homeland, and the border is our honor. Do your duty at the border, don’t listen to anyone,” Kılıçdaroğlu wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Akar recently announced that around 60,000 Syrians living in Türkiye are returning to their home country due to losing their homes and relatives.
On Feb. 6, magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 Turkish provinces, namely Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye and Şanlıurfa. The disaster claimed the lives of over 50,000 people.
Over 13.5 million people in Türkiye have been affected by the quakes and many others in northern Syria.
Despite the government's welcoming policy toward Syrians, which is also supported by the majority of the public, the Good Party (IP) and its ally CHP have been propagating anti-refugee rhetoric in Türkiye by targeting Syrians and other foreigners.
The refugee issue has taken center stage in Turkish politics, especially after the statements of Kılıçdaroğlu, who said in a July 16 video they would say goodbye to the “Syrian guests” and would send them home within two years.
Since the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011, Ankara has been at the forefront of helping Syrian refugees. As a result, the country is home to more than 3.5 million refugees from Syria, the largest Syrian refugee community in the world. As it grapples with the influx of displaced, the country strives to offer exemplary care to the refugees, covering all their needs with a humanitarian expenditure of more than $30 billion (TL 398.13 billion).
Afghans are believed to be the second-largest refugee community in the country after Syrians.
