Over 5,000 Syrian Refugees Return From Turkey to Jarablus Freed From Daesh

More than 5,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their homes from Turkey, following the liberation of the eastern city of Jarablus, Turkish Yeni Safak newspaper reported Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On August 24, the Turkish army with the support of US-led coalition aircraft launched the Euphrates Shield operation to clear Jarablus and the surrounding area occupied by Daesh. The operation has been widely criticized both by the Syrian Kurds and Damascus accusing Ankara of violating Syria's territorial integrity.

According to the Yeni Safak newspaper, 5,176 Jarablus residents have already arrived in the city, while the departure from Turkey continues.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition groups, as well as terrorist formations, such as Daesh, outlawed in many countries, including the United Kingdom and Russia among others.

The conflict has caused a major humanitarian crisis making millions of people to flee Syria. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) more than 2.7 million of them are currently in Turkey.