Disinformation campaign ramps up against Syrian refugees in Türkiye
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad addresses the new members of parliament in Damascus, Syria in this handout released by SANA on August 12, 2020 (Reuters)
Syrians in Turkiye continue to face disinformation campaigns in Turkish social media. A few Turkish media outlets and prominent journalists such as Ugur Dundar quoted Syria’s Bashar al-Assad as saying that he would prevent Syrians from returning to Türkiye if they visited Syria for the Eid al-Adha Holiday.
Although there is no evidence of Assad making such remarks, many Turkish social media users reacted “with joy” to such an unconfirmed statement.
The statement has not been officially confirmed by Assad himself, and there has been no coverage of it in the international press so far.
I will not send back any citizen who visited Syria from Türkiye for the holiday. I have delegated all authority regarding this matter to our Minister of Interior.
Prominent Turkish journalist Ugur Dundar with 5 million followers on X quoted Assad as saying the remark above.
Since early 2011, Syria has been embroiled in a brutal civil conflict triggered by the al-Assad regime’s harsh repression of pro-democracy demonstrations.
Türkiye hosts around 3.7 million Syrian refugees who fled persecution and violence in their homeland.
In northern Syria, Turkish military operations such as Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, and Spring Shield reclaimed significant territories since 2016, from terrorist organizations like the PKK and its Syrian affiliate, the YPG, facilitating the secure resettlement of civilians.
