Turkish expert says Syrian refugees unlikely to stay permanently after mass return for Eid festival

For the thousands of Syrian refugees returning home from Turkey for the Islamic festival Eid-al-Adha, the trip is an opportunity to assess the current conditions of their homeland for a permanent stay, however, it is unlikely to see a mass ultimate return in the near future, a Turkish expert said.

Crossings between Turkey and Syria have been closed by Turkish authorities to most civilians since 2015 to prevent a spillover of the conflict in Syria and to prevent refugees from flooding into Turkey.

Recently, Turkey has temporarily opened the border crossing in southern Kilis province to Syrians to towns of Azaz, Mare, Soran, Aktarin, Cobanbey, Jarablus and El Bab.

Syrians with valid documents are allowed to cross the border before Nov. 15, and the number of Syrians going back for Eid had reached 37,000 in 12 days, according to official Anadolu Agency.

Syrians in Turkey may consider to return to their home country, after the situations have calmed down in both de-escalation zones following a Russia-Turkey initiative and the liberated areas by Turkish army in northern Syria, said Metin Corabatir, president of the Research Center on Asylum and Migration (IGAM).

The visits may serve for the Syrian refugees to evaluate the current security and economic conditions of their country, as well as the circumstances of the houses they used to live before the war, said Corabatir.

While some refugees may choose to stay in Syria, most of them are expected to return to Turkey after the festival, said Corabatir, adding that "there is not an environment in Syria for mass voluntary returns yet."

He pointed out that although Turkish soldiers had "liberated" some of the areas in Syria, most of the regions lack international support.

He is not optimistic for witnessing a mass return to Syria unless an authority is established across the war-torn country following an international agreement, as he believed an important part of the refugees are the people who are opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Turkish government supports the rebuilding process in towns such as Jarablus and al-Bab, while developments and infrastructure projects are underway including the housing of the displaced Syrians after years-long conflicts.

"Operation Euphrates Shield" in Syria was a military movement to clear the Azaz-Jarablus line of its border with Syria from the threat of Islamic State (IS) and to prevent the Syrian Kurdish militia merging in Afrin and Kobane regions from establishing a "Kurdish belt."

Turkey has received more than 3 million Syrian refugees since the beginning of Syrian civil war in 2011.

source: Xinhua