By Ata Ufuk Seker</p> <p>BRUSSELS (AA) – A fair burden sharing is necessary for a better future for our society and migrants, said an official from Turkey's Interior Ministry.</p> <p>"Otherwise, we might face a new crisis in Turkey, Greece and Europe," said Abdullah Ayaz, who heads the migration management department at the ministry, at an event in Brussels.</p> <p>Ayaz recalled that Turkey hosts the largest number of migrants in the world, almost 4.8 million migrants, 3.6 of whom are Syrians.</p> <p>He said there are more than 900,000 residence permit holders in Turkey and they are expected to reach a million at the end of 2019.</p> <p>Explaining that they have made serious efforts for migrants from Syria and other countries, Ayaz said: "We provide immigrants with access to basic public services, such as health and education. We are also trying to integrate them into the labor market."</p> <p>Ayaz stressed that 2 million Syrians in Turkey were at working age and said their integration into the labor market was not easy.</p> <p>He went on to say that for a better migration management, the root cause for migration should be searched for in their countries of origin.</p> <p>Turkey has been a main route for irregular migrants trying to cross to Europe, especially since 2011, the start of the Syrian civil war.</p> <p>Over 265,000 irregular migrants were held in Turkey in 2018, according to the Turkish Interior Ministry.</p> <p>Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.</p> <p>According to UN figures, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed or displaced in the conflict, mainly by regime airstrikes in opposition-held areas.
*Writing by Sibel Morrow
