Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sunday, November 9, that the number of Syrian refugees who have returned from Turkey to Syria has reached 1,290,000 since 2016, and that this number “is increasing day by day.”

In remarks to the press on his return from Azerbaijan, reported by Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, Erdoğan said housing construction in northern Syria has already begun and is ongoing. He added that returns of refugees from around the world to Syria “are accelerating as the country’s unity and stability are strengthened,” as he put it.

The Turkish president said the Syrian refugee issue is among the most exploited topics in Turkey.

He asserted that the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) exploited the matter extensively, saying, “In the last elections, the CHP and its presidential candidate ran a racist campaign against refugees, and the result of that campaign was known.”

He hinted this may have been one of the reasons the party’s former leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, exited the political scene, because “he overexploited the issue and brought divine retribution upon himself through the prayers of the wronged.”

He continued, “They turned Syrian refugees who sought shelter in our country into enemies and a target of hate, thinking they would gain some votes from that, but they did not achieve what they wanted.”

Erdoğan said, “As for us, we have always explained the meaning of conscience, humanity, and brotherhood. We said we are the helpers and they are the migrants, therefore we will not expel migrants from our homes, and we will never do so. We have remained firm in our position and will continue to do so.”

“Have sanctions on Syria been lifted? Yes, they have,” Erdoğan added, asking, “What does that mean? It means politics needs vision. If there is vision, problems are solved. If it is absent, nothing will be solved.”

More than half a million since Assad’s fall

Turkey’s Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said on November 1 that the number of Syrians who returned from Turkey to Syria after December 8, 2024, reached 550,000.

About 2.4 million Syrian refugees remain in Turkey, according to official figures, after their number exceeded 3.5 million at the peak of the refugee crisis, according to Turkish authorities.

The interior minister affirmed in September that Turkey stands with Syrians during the voluntary return process, noting that voluntary returns gained momentum following political developments in Syria and the fall of the Assad regime on December 8, 2024.

Yerlikaya considered that Turkey manages migration under the leadership of President Erdoğan and presents an “exemplary” model to the world through its “historic experience, humanitarian approach, and rational outlook.”

He pointed out that Turkey continues to implement voluntary return procedures with great sensitivity, coordinated by the Presidency of Migration Management.

Since the end of the school term in Turkey, the number of people crossing from Turkey to Syria through the various border gates linking the two countries has doubled, according to the newspaper Türkiye on June 29.

Citing Interior Ministry sources, the newspaper reported at the time that since mid-June, daily crossings through the border gates have doubled to 2,500 people, up from around 1,300 to 1,400 per day prior to that period.

Warning against return

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) warned of difficult conditions inside Syria that are not conducive to a safe and dignified return of Syrian refugees from neighboring countries.

In a statement on its website on September 25, the IRC said that although the number of Syrian refugees returning from neighboring states has surpassed one million, conditions remain difficult and far from enabling large-scale, safe, dignified, and sustainable returns.

Persistent insecurity, humanitarian needs, and the collapse of basic services will pose risks to returnees and host communities alike, the organization said.

Juan Gabriel Wells, the IRC’s Syria country director, said the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime has given many refugees hope of returning home, and that nearly a year on, reports indicate that more than one million have returned. “But we must be clear: returning under the current conditions does not mean returning safely and with dignity, nor that there is stability.”

A recent joint assessment by the IRC shows families are struggling to find jobs and income, secure safe shelter, and meet their basic needs for food, water, and healthcare. The organization also warned about the situation in al-Hol camp (al-Hasakah, northeastern Syria), where thousands of Islamic State fighters’ family members are held, and about ongoing security concerns along desert routes used for smuggling.