“From the United Nations’ General Assembly hall, I call on the world to launch an initiative to stop the Syrian crisis and support our efforts,” Erdogan told world leaders in New York.
He said Turkey already hosts around five million refugees from other countries – including 3.6 million from Syria.
Millions of Syrians have fled the country since 2011 when the brutal suppression of Arab Spring-inspired protests sparked the savage ongoing civil war. The majority sought refuge in neighboring Turkey.
Syrian regime forces – backed by Russia and Iran – have launched a fresh offensive against armed opposition groups in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib. Turkey fears a further escalation could see millions more refugees pour over its border.
“Turkey will neither tolerate nor is it able to receive a new wave of migration. Therefore, we expect all countries to support Turkish efforts to provide stability and security to Idlib,” Erdogan said.
Idlib is mostly controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Al-Qaeda’s former Syrian affiliate. Other areas are controlled by Turkish-backed opposition fighters. Around three million civilians are thought to reside inside the opposition holdout. The UN warns any large-scale offensive there would lead to a bloodbath.
The Turkish president accused the international community of forgetting the story of Alan Kurdi – the Syrian toddler whose drowning during the perilous sea crossing to Europe in September 2015 evoked widespread horror when photographs of his lifeless body were published worldwide.
“The world quickly forgot Aylan the baby,” Erdogan said. “Do not forget that the same incident could happen to you one day because there is not only one Aylan the baby but thousands, millions.”
More than 340,000 Syrians have already returned to areas of Syria under the control of Turkish-backed militias, according to the Turkish foreign ministry.
Turkish security forces have been clamping down on illegal Syrian refugees as the public mood appears to turn against them.
Erdogan has previously said his country has spent more than $40 billion hosting Syrian refugees since 2011.
Turkey and the US agreed in August to establish a ‘safe zone’ in northern Syria, which Erdogan hopes to turn into a peace corridor for the resettlement of refugees. Erdogan has said multiple times he intends to repatriate up to three million Syrians to the planned safe zone.
US and Turkish troops have conducted several air and ground patrols in the area, but the exact size and depth of the planned zone remains unclear.
