Syrian refugees in Turkey relieved by Erdogan triumph
As the war across the border in Syria rages on, there's now an estimated 3.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey who were threatened with deportation by opposition parties during recent election campaigns.
Syrian refugee children ride a bicycle in Elbeyli refugee camp near the Turkish-Syrian border in Kilis province, Turkey, on December 1, 2016.
While millions of Turkish people celebrated President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's election victory, Syrians in the border areas of southeastern Turkey have also breathed a sigh of relief.
Cevidan Inzi, who is originally Turkish but married a Syrian and lived in the Syrian border town of Jarablus until the war, now lives in Turkey’s Gaziantep with her grandchildren and surviving son. She lost her other son at the hands of Daesh.
Her surviving son, Mustafa al Hamad Abu Marouf, gained residency two years ago and voted in the elections on the weekend. “We voted for the AK Party and President Erdogan, because when Syrians needed it we were given a home. In the campaigning some of the opposition parties were using very negative messages and Syrians were scared from this election,” he says.
TRT World 's Middle East correspondent Sara Firth has more from southeastern Turkey.
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