Nearly 32,000 Syrians return from Istanbul

ISTANBUL, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) — Nearly 32,000 Syrian migrants have returned from Istanbul, Türkiye’s largest city, during the first seven months of the year, the governor of Istanbul said here on Thursday.
In a press briefing, Davut Gul, the governor, highlighted the city’s ongoing efforts to manage migration, noting that Istanbul is home to a total of 1.07 million foreigners.
“In the first seven months of the year, 191,716 foreigners left our city due to visa exemptions or the expiration of residence permits, while 31,765 Syrians voluntarily returned to their home country,” Gul said.
During the seven-month period, Türkiye conducted inspections on nearly 420,000 foreigners in Istanbul, leading to the discovery of 42,709 irregular migrants, said the governor, adding that 420 suspected human smugglers were arrested in 174 anti-smuggling operations.
Since the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Türkiye has become a major transit point for millions of Syrian refugees seeking to migrate to Europe. According to official data, there are 3.1 million Syrians across Türkiye, with 530,272 residing in Istanbul. ■