Turkiye launches housing project for refugee repatriation in northern Syria

ByNews Desk- The Cradle 

Many have accused Ankara of using the refugee crisis as an electoral ploy

The Turkish government has launched plans to construct around 240,000 housing units in northern Syria, aimed at resettling Syrian refugees.

On 24 May, an AFP correspondent reportedly saw construction workers operating heavy machinery in Jarablus, near the border with Turkiye.

“Syrian refugees living in Turkey will settle in the houses… as part of a dignified, voluntary safe return,” Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Wednesday at the project’s launch, according to Turkish media outlet IHA.

“GÜVENLİ, GÖNÜLLÜ ve ONURLU Geri Dönüş Projesi” temel atma törenini, İçişleri Bakanımız Sn.@suleymansoylu'nun teşrifleri ile gerçekleştirdik. pic.twitter.com/XQU2ey4A9D

— Yunus Sezer (@Yunus_Sezer_) May 24, 2023

The project will take three years, and “240,000 houses will be built,” the minister added. Qatar has also sponsored the initiative.

“Qatari emir [Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad] Al-Thani and our President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have taken a big step toward addressing one of the world’s most important issues,” Soylu said.

According to the interior minister, the first 5,000 houses will be finished in six months.

Erdogan has hardened his stance against refugees in the lead up to runoff elections, as have his rivals in the race in a bid to appeal to nationalist voters, as anti-migrant sentiment runs high in the country.

“To date, there have been 554,000 voluntary returns,” Soylu claimed. However, there have been reports of forced deportations.

Turkiye has previously stated that it has plans to repatriate over a million refugees in northern Syria, and has constructed housing units there in the past.

However, many, including the Turkish opposition, have accused Erdogan of encouraging repatriation only before the election in order to win votes among those who see the presence of refugees as a burden on Turkiye

The Syrian government has also echoed such claims, particularly in relation to normalization efforts between Syria and Turkiye – which Damascus says is being used as an election ploy for Erdogan to portray himself as a champion in diplomacy.

Turkiye still occupies significant portions of northern Syria, and maintains control over other areas through proxy militias.

While involved in a Russian and Iranian-sponsored reconciliation process, Damascus has continued to assert that the success of this process must depend on Turkish withdrawal and ending support for militant groups.

The Syrian government has for years been attempting to repatriate refugees. While successful to an extent, repatriation efforts have been obstructed by the west, particularly for refugees in Lebanon.