“From the liberation of Syria on December 8, 2024, until today, the number of our Syrian brothers and sisters who have returned to their country voluntarily, safely, honorably, and regularly has reached 450,169,” Ali Yerlikaya said on X.
Ankara is a staunch supporter of the new authorities in Damascus, led by the former jihadist rebel group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
“Turkey has always stood by our Syrian brothers and sisters who fled Assad’s oppression in 2011 and sought refuge in our country,” Yerlikaya said.
The interim government in Damascus has called on Syrians outside of the country to return, and several European nations have suspended processing of Syrian refugee claims.
Turkey has been home to the largest number of Syrian refugees in the world, hosting an estimated 2.5 million registered Syrians under temporary protection as of August, according to the interior ministry’s statistics.
A total of 1,190,000 Syrians who sought refuge in Turkey have returned home, according to Yerlikaya.
Ankara has been accused of resettling Syrian Arab families in northern Syria where its repeated military offensives have forced thousands of Kurdish families from their homes since 2016.
