On 23 April 2016, Patrick Kingsley had an article published in the Guardian newspaper in which he claimed that Turkey takes brutal measures on the Syrian border in order to avoid taking on the refugee burden. He wrote:

However, Turkey increased border security in order to stop the flow of foreign fighters as a part of its fight against the DAESH terrorist group in Syria. Border security was enhanced with additional personnel, patrols and equipment. According to a statement from Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 8 April 2016, Turkey also completed the construction of 93 kilometers of a planned 192 kilometer-long wall along its border with Syria designed to keep DAESH fighters out.

 

Border security measures were increased after DAESH conducted a suicide bomb attack in the town of Suruc, Sanliurfa on 20 July 2015 which killed 33 people. Following the suicide attack, Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu promised to boost security along the country's border. On 23 July 2015, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc announced after a cabinet meeting that the Turkish Armed Forces will set up a physical security system along the Syrian border.

 

On the other hand, Turkey has maintained an open-door policy towards Syrian refugees since 2011. Currently, Turkey hosts 2.7 million Syrian refugees, which corresponds to more than half of the total number of the Syrian refugees (4.8 million) according to the regional overview given by the UN Refugee Agency. For more information please click here.