One killed, seven injured in forest fires in Syria
One person was killed and seven others injured on Friday in forest fires raging across the northern countryside of the northwestern province of Latakia since Thursday, according to Syrian state TV.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said that 18,000 migrants have crossed his country’s borders into Europe after Ankara “opened the doors” for them to travel, according to the report.
Turkey is hosting 3.7 million Syrian refugees, as well as migrants from other countries such as Afghanistan. It had previously stopped them from leaving for Europe under an aid-linked deal with the European Union (EU), the BBC reported.
But Erdogan accused the EU of breaking promises.
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Earlier in the day, Erdogan said, “We said months ago that if it goes on like this, we will have to open the doors. They did not believe us, but we opened the doors yesterday (Friday)”, BBC reported.
He said that some 18,000 refugees had “pressed on the gates and crossed” into Europe.
In 2019, more than 50 people, including civilians, have been killed as the Turkish offensive in Syria, which was launched by President Erdogan aimed at pushing the Kurdish forces away from its border.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported at least 29 deaths among the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and 17 from the Syrian National Army, as more than 10 villages fell into Turkish hands.
Meanwhile, a refugee crisis is developing. Some 64,000 people have already reportedly fled their homes, the BBC quoted International Rescue Committee aid organisation as saying.
Aid groups have said that as many as 450,000 people could be forced to move.
The UN Security Council discussed the situation on Thursday at the request of its current five EU members – the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Poland – who are calling for Turkey to halt its military offensive.
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