Human Rights Watch has issued a new report on violence by Turkish border guards against Syrian asylum seekers, reporting that at least five Syrians, including a child, have been killed in incidents, as the guards routinely shoot at and beat refugees at the crossings.
The report called Turkish behavior “truly appalling,” insisting that the Turkish government continues to claim an “open borders” policy even as they use violence to keep civilians off the border and growing camps spring up in northernmost Syria.
The casualties, five confirmed killed and 14 wounded, span the period of March and April, and the report warns that the situation has not improved in early May, meaning the toll is only getting worse, as Turkey aims to stem the tide of refugees.
Turkey is housing millions of refugees from Syria, and largely did accept anyone crossing early in the civil war. As the European Union has made deals with the Erdogan government to keep refugees out of the Europe, however, it seems Turkey is also going out of its way to keep the refugees from getting out of Syria in general.