Turkey, Russia meet over refugee concerns

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A man sorts through the damage to a shop in the city of Saraqeb in Idlib province after an airstrike on Saturday. Associated Press/Photo by Ghaith al-Sayed

Turkey, Russia meet over refugee concerns

More than 800,000 civilians have migrated to Turkey from the northwestern Syrian region of Idlib since Russian and Syrian forces intensified airstrikes in April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday. A Turkish delegation met with Russian officials Monday in Moscow to try to iron out differences between the two countries over Syria.

Will Russia stop the airstrikes? The strikes are part of a campaign by Russian-backed Syrian President Bashar Assad to retake rebel-held areas in the northern part of the country. Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to visit Turkey on Jan. 8 to discuss the refugee concerns, but Assad has vowed not to back down until he retakes Idlib. Human rights groups say the airstrikes are targeting civilian convoys attempting to leave the area.

Dig deeper: Read my earlier report in The Sift on attacks in northern Syria.

Onize Ohikere

Onize is WORLD’s Africa reporter and deputy global desk chief. She is a World Journalism Institute graduate and earned a journalism degree from Minnesota State University–Moorhead. Onize resides in Abuja, Nigeria.

@onize_ohiks