“Among the refugees are Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and even Syrian Circassians, and all of them receive the same services and assistance. We do not care about national or religious affiliation. We have accepted and will continue to accept everyone,” Atakan said.
According to the official, 90 percent of displaced persons from Syria arrive in Turkey with no documents and this is not an obstacle for obtaining refugee status.
He noted that the Syrians are provided not only with shelter at Turkish refugee camps, but also receive the necessary medical assistance and children are able to attend school.
“This is even less than the amount needed to provide these people with just electricity,” he told Sputnik.
A civil war has been raging in Syria since 2011, when nationwide anti-government protests turned into an armed uprising. The Syrian government is currently battling a number of insurgent groups, including Islamic State jihadists.
Turkey has maintained an open door policy for Syrian refugees since the beginning of the conflict. According to the UNHCR, more than 1.1 million persons have fled from war-torn Syria to Turkey.
