ANKARA: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday pledged to reopen a border post on Turkiye’s southern frontier with Syria to facilitate the return of refugees after the ouster of Bashar Assad.
“In order to ease the traffic at the border, we’re opening the Yayladagi border gate,” Erdogan said, referring to a crossing on the westerly edge of the frontier that has been closed since 2013.
Turkiye, which has a long border with Syria, is home to nearly three million refugees who fled their homeland after the start of the civil war in 2011, with many hundreds flocking to cross the frontier in the wake of Assad’s departure in order to finally return home.
Although not directly involved in the militant operation that ousted Assad, Turkiye has expressed support for the move and said it hoped the strongman’s removal would allow the refugees to return home.
“The strong wind of change in Syria will be beneficial for all Syrians, especially the refugees. As Syria gains stability, voluntary returns will increase and the 13-year longing of the Syrians for their homeland will come to an end,” he said.
Turkiye to reopen Syria border post for returning refugees: Erdogan
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Turkiye to reopen Syria border post for returning refugees: Erdogan
- “In order to ease the traffic at the border, we’re opening the Yayladagi border gate,” Erdogan said, referring to a crossing on the westerly edge of the frontier
UN peacekeepers say Israeli forces fired on them in southern Lebanon
- “Yesterday, peacekeepers in vehicles patrolling the Blue Line were fired upon by IDF soldiers in a Merkava tank,” UNIFIL said
- It said that both the peacekeepers and the Israeli tank were in Lebanese territory
BEIRUT: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said Wednesday that Israeli forces fired on its peacekeepers a day earlier in the country’s south, urging Israel’s army to “cease aggressive behavior.”
It is the latest such incident reported by the peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, where UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon and has been working with Lebanon’s army to support a year-old truce between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
“Yesterday, peacekeepers in vehicles patrolling the Blue Line were fired upon by IDF (Israeli army) soldiers in a Merkava tank,” a UNIFIL statement said, referring to the de facto border.
“One ten-round burst of machine-gun fire was fired above the convoy, and four further ten-round bursts were fired nearby,” the statement said.
It said that both the peacekeepers and the Israeli tank were in Lebanese territory at the time of the incident and that the Israeli military had been informed of the location and timing of the peacekeeping patrol in advance.
“Peacekeepers asked the IDF to stop firing through UNIFIL’s liaison channels... Fortunately, no one was injured,” it said.
Last month UNIFIL said Israeli soldiers shot at its troops in the south, while Israel’s military said it mistook blue helmets for “suspects” and fired warning shots.
In October, UNIFIL said one of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near a UN position in the country’s south, the third incident of its kind in just over a month.
“Attacks on or near peacekeepers are serious violations of (UN) Security Council Resolution 1701,” UNIFIL said on Wednesday, referring to the 2006 resolution that formed the basis of the November 2024 truce.
“We call on the IDF to cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working to rebuild stability along the Blue Line,” the peacekeepers said.
Israel carries out regular attacks on Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting sites and operatives belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of rearming.
It has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic.
On Saturday, a UN Security Council delegation visiting Lebanon urged all parties to uphold the ceasefire.
It emphasized that the “safety of peacekeepers must be respected and that they must never be targeted,” after gunmen on mopeds attacked UNIFIL personnel last week.
