Death toll from Turkish army’s bullets rises to 489 Syrian refugees

Ali Ragab

Syrians are repeatedly being killed by the Turkish border guards, the Gendarmerie, as the forces of the Brotherhood Caliph, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, continue to target Syrian civilians on the borders, in crimes punishable by international law and considered war crimes.

Murhaf Ahmad al-Khaled al-Awad, a Syrian refugee from Aleppo, was killed on Tuesday, March 9 after entering Turkish territory through the border village of Khirbet al-Joz in the northern countryside of Idlib. He was struck by bullets fired by Turkish border guards, and his body was delivered to a hospital in the Turkish city Antakya, bringing the number of those killed by Turkish soldiers’ bullets to 489 Syrian refugees.

The Violations Documentation Center in Northern Syria stated that the Turkish authorities refuse to hand over the bodies of the victims except after obtaining a written waiver from the victim’s family, acquitting the Turkish army and assigning the blame to the victims, whom they claimed refused to obey orders or attacked soldiers.

The number of Syrian refugees killed by Turkish soldiers’ bullets until the end of February 2021 rose to 490, including 93 children under the age of 18 and 65 women, and the number of wounded and injured by gunfire or assault increased to 618 people, mainly those trying to cross the border, residents of Syrian border villages and towns, farmers, and owners of lands adjacent to the border, where they are targeted by Turkish forces.

Cases of the Gendarmerie targeting Syrian refugees trying to cross the border from Syria to escape the ongoing war in their country are frequent, and Turkey has built a separation wall along its 911 km long border to prevent the entry of refugees, which continuously results in civilian deaths and injuries.

The Syrians have become convinced that Turkey has failed them on all levels; not only militarily or politically, but even on the human level. Turkey has been a party to the ongoing war in Syria and was the one who opened the borders to transfer arms and militants, and Ankara has supported and still supports dozens of armed groups fighting among themselves in areas that are supposed to be safe. Ankara also receives international aid and funds from the European Union and the United States on behalf of the Syrian refugees, but nothing reaches them.

Thousands of displaced people, most of whom were forced to leave their homes and flee from their cities based on deals and agreements concluded by Turkey with Russia and Iran, find that their lives and the lives of their children have ended, with hope dissipating day after day. In compelling circumstances of no work, no security and no safety, they have little choice but to turn into mercenaries, and then Turkey sends them to Libya or Azerbaijan to die of oppression and starvation.

Turkey has the right to secure its borders with Syria, but it is obligated to respect the principle of unforced return, which prevents asylum seekers from being pushed back at the border when they are at risk of persecution and torture and their lives and freedom are threatened. Turkey should also respect international standards for the use of lethal force, as well as the right to life and physical integrity, including the absolute prohibition on subjecting anyone to inhuman or degrading treatment.