Massendeportationen von Syrern aus der Türkei
Flüchtlingslager für Syrer, Bildquelle: Wallpaper Flare
Sie waren ein zentrales Wahlkampfthema: Die syrischen Flüchtlinge in der Türkei. Regierungsparteien und Oppositionen überboten sich dabei in Ankündigungen, wie man die inzwischen äußerst ungeliebten Menschen aus dem südlichen Nachbarland möglichst schnell los wird.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), more than 950 Syrians, including women and children, have been forcibly deported from Turkey since the beginning of July.
The crackdown began last year but intensified after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won May's divisive presidential elections.
The elections took place amid an alarming rise of xenophobia and discrimination against Syrian refugees, with both candidates promising mass deportations.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the 74-year-old opposition candidate, repeatedly vowed to deport all Syrian refugees from the country. Despite his initial support for Syrians fleeing the bloody conflict, Erdogan also promised to "voluntarily" return around one million Syrians to the north of the country.
Speaking on Thursday after returning from a three-nation Gulf tour, Erdogan told reporters that his government was making great strides in its plan.
"The construction of briquette houses in northern Syria continues. We have now reached the figure of 100,000-150,000 briquette houses," he said.
"As we did this, our Syrian refugee brothers started to return."