GENEVA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan called on Tuesday for the resettlement of 1 million Syrian refugees in a “peace zone†in the northern part of their homeland, on a voluntary basis but in “a very short period of time.â€
“We need to find formula to allow refugees… who traveled to Turkey to be resettled in their motherland,†Erdogan, whose country hosts 3.7 million Syrian refugees, told the Global Forum on Refugees, being held in Geneva.
Housing and schools could be set up in the zone, where some 371,000 Syrian refugees have already returned since Turkish military operations to clear the area of “terrorist organizations,†he said, naming Daesh and the Kurdish YPG and PKK.