Turkish Grand National Assembly Speaker Binali Yıldırım
Turkey's parliament speaker on Monday criticized developed countries over the way they have been handling the issue of migration.
“Every day, boats full of people are trying to reach the west coast which have turned the Mediterranean [Sea] into a refugee graveyard,” Binali Yıldırım said at the 139th meeting of Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union.
“If developed countries had predicted that this problem may arise, [finding] a solution would be much easier,” Yıldırım added.
A fresh batch of Syrian refugees returned to their homes from Lebanon on Monday as part of an ongoing repatriation initiative overseen jointly by the UN, the Lebanese authorities and the Syrian regime.According to Lebanon’s state press, “hundreds” of refugees returned from Lebanon to their homes in Syria on Monday via the Al-Masnaa, Al-Aboudiya and Al-Zimrani border crossings.The repatriation campaign is also being coordinated by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).A Lebanese security source told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity that at least 700 refugees had set out for Syria on Monday from different areas of Lebanon.Lebanon leader hails reopening of Jordan-Syria crossingMustafa Mansour, head of the Syrian Workers' Union in Lebanon, said his union was working to ensure -- in coordination with the Lebanese security apparatus and the Syrian embassy -- the “safe and voluntary” repatriation of “hundreds” of Syrian refugees.According to Lebanese figures, roughly 1.5 million Syrian refugees still remain on Lebanese territory. The UN, however, puts the number at less than one million.Beirut has repeatedly warned that its large refugee population -- for which it has received scant international assistance -- was putting unsustainable pressure on its already limited resources.
Fresh batch of refugees return to Syria from Lebanon
Turkey hosts more Syrian refugees than any other country in the world. The country has spent more than $32 billion from its own national resources for helping and sheltering refugees since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.
Turkey has been the main route for irregular migrants trying to cross into Europe, especially since 2011 when the Syrian civil war began.