Over seven thousand Syrian refugees arrived in Iraq one week after the start of the Turkish military operation in northern Syria, said the official representative of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Andrei Mahechich at a briefing on Friday.
“A week after the first refugees arrived from Syria to Iraq, their influx into northern Iraq continues. The UNHCR teams that work on site this morning said that over 7,100 people have arrived since Monday. Most of them less than seven thousand people are located in the Bardarash camp, 140 kilometers east of the Iraq-Syrian border”, – he said.
According to Mahechich, the majority of refugees are women and children who need, among all, psychological help. In total, in Iraq, according to UNHCR, there is a lock of 229 thousand Syrian refugees.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on October 9 announced the launch of Operation Source of Peace in northern Syria against the Kurdistan Workers Party and the Islamic State terrorist group banned in Turkey. Turkish aviation attacked the city of Ras al-Ain and a number of other Syrian cities on the border of the two countries on the same day.
Later it was announced the start of the ground part of the operation. The Turkish Ministry of Defense reported that the Turkish military and the Syrian armed opposition took control of Ras al-Ain on October 12, and the control of the city of Tell Abyad was announced the next day.
Syrian authorities have repeatedly condemned the occupation policy of Turkey in northern Syria. Russia stated that Turkey needs to avoid actions that could stand in the way of resolving the Syrian conflict, which has been ongoing since 2011.
* – Terrorist organization banned in Russia.