Istanbul : Around 3,000 Syrian refugees out of the 130,000 who crossed the border into Turkey, fleeing from Islamic State (IS) violence in the Syrian town of Kobani, arrived in Istanbul during the last two days.
According to officials of the transport companies in Istanbul, most of the Syrians who arrived in Suruc town of Turkey’s Sanliurfa province, preferred to go to Istanbul instead of settling down in the refugee camps, Xinhua reported.
Officials stated that many Syrians have also spread to Turkey’s southern provinces of Adana and Mersin.
In the meantime, the high numbers of Syrians in big provinces, including Istanbul, have been causing significant tension among Turkish citizens.
The number of Syrians in Istanbul has already reached 330,000. Most of them stay on the streets, surviving by begging.
Istanbul’s former governor Huseyin Avni has declared that special forces would sweep the streets of Istanbul off Syrian beggars. However, they can be seen in almost every corner of most tourist locations of the city.
Recently, the interior ministry sent a memorandum to the 81 provinces of Turkey and declared that the Syrian beggars who have been living in big cities be moved to 22 different camps in the southeastern provinces.
According to Turkey’s Anadolu news agency, the number of refugees who have entered Turkey leaving their home town of Kobani in Syria since Friday reached 130,000.