Over 40,000 Syrians return home from Turkey in 2018

By Cem Genco</p> <p>HATAY, Turkey (AA) – Over 40,000 Syrians left Turkey over the last year for their hometowns liberated from terrorists in northwestern Syria. </p> <p>Taking refuge in Turkey due to civil war in Syria, a total of 40,574 Syrians from different parts of Turkey used the Cilvegozu border gate in southern Hatay province to go to Syria’s terror-free areas of Idlib region.</p> <p>Syrians headed to their homeland after legal procedures at the border.</p> <p>This year, a total of 104,000 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid and commercial materials used the same border gate. </p> <p>Turkey’s Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations in northwestern Syria liberated the region of YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists, making return of Syrian civilians to homeland possible.</p> <p>Last month, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said nearly 300,000 Syrians returned to their homes after the Turkish military conducted successful operations in the region.</p> <p>“The number of Syrians who returned to their country after the Operations Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch is 291,790,” Soylu said.