USA TODAY International Edition
Turkey says it is at capacity for Syrian refugees
EU wants nation to keep borders open, offers $ 3.3 billion in aid.
Up to 24 people drowned Monday trying to reach Greece from Turkey as German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks in Ankara with Turkey’s leadership over how to reduce the influx of migrants headed to Europe.
Merkel traveled to the Turkish capital for talks with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The leaders agreed to take steps to try to stem the flow of Syrian refugees crossing Turkey’s territory by appealing for greater cooperation from NATO. The security alliance has monitoring capabilities on the Syrian border and in the Aegean Sea, Davutoglu said.
Merkel said she would renew pressure on the United Nations to keep a resolution passed in December that calls for all sides in Syria’s 5- year- old war to halt attacks on civilians.
“We have been, in the past few days, not just appalled but horrified by what has been caused in the way of human suffering for tens of thousands of people by bombing — bombing primarily from the Russian side,” she said in Turkey. “Under such circumstances, it’s hard for peace talks to take place, and so this situation must be brought to an end quickly,” Merkel said.
Syrian President Bashar Assad’s military forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, launched an offensive last week to retake the Syrian city of Aleppo from rebel control. That effort has also added pressure on Turkey as thousands of fleeing Syrians have amassed on its border. About 2.5 million Syrian refugees are already in Turkey.
Davutoglu said Aleppo “is de facto under siege. We are on the verge of a new human tragedy.”
The Turkish border crossing of Oncupinar, opposite the Syrian Bab al- Salameh gate, remained closed Monday for a fourth day as Turkish authorities provided assistance to the Syrians at a displaced persons camp nearby, the Associated Press reported. It was not clear if or when Turkey would let the group in, although it has indicated it would.
Turkey said Sunday it is at capacity to absorb refugees flooding into the country.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus had told CNN- Turk television that Turkey will continue to let in refugees fleeing the war in Syria.
“At the moment, we are admitting some, and are trying to keep others there by providing them with every kind of humanitarian support,” said Kurtulmus, adding that 15,000 Syrian refugees were admitted into Turkey in recent days. “We are not in a position to tell them not to come. If we do, we would be abandoning them to their deaths.”
Retaking Aleppo, a key commercial center in Syria, would be a critical victory for the regime and the latest in a series of setbacks for opposition forces.
Russia says it began the airstrikes in Syria in September to combat the Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS, but the Pentagon says the vast majority of the airstrikes have targeted moderate groups that oppose Assad.
The bombardment of Aleppo has undermined recent efforts at peace talks, the Obama administration and allies say. Talks last week to end the war fizzled out in Geneva and are expected to resume later this month.
Regime successes have made prospects for a brokered political solution even more remote, since Assad would not be encouraged to make concessions.
Pope Francis on Sunday expressed concern about Syria and called on the international community to revive talks to end the war. “I am following with strong worry the dramatic fate of the civilian population caught up in the violent combat,” Francis said.
EU nations have committed $ 3.3 billion to assist refugees fleeing the war, part of an effort aimed at providing humanitarian aid to refugees while trying to prevent migrants from trying to make their way to Greece and then Europe.