Erdogan threatens to send Syrian refugees to Europe

On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to send the millions of Syrian refugees in Turkey to Europe if the EU treats the Turkish invasion of northeast Syria as an invasion or occupation.

“We will open the gates and send 3.6 million refugees in your direction,” Erdogan said in a speech to MPs from his AKP.

The Turkish president responded to the wave of international criticism in response to the offensive that the Turkish forces opened on Wednesday. The attack is aimed at Kurdish fighters in the northern Syrian area where Turkey wants to create a ‘safe zone’ as a buffer against ‘terrorism’.

Between the start of the offensive and the end of Thursday morning, Turkish troops and the Arab and Turkmen Syrian militias supporting them have killed 109 Kurdish fighters, according to Erdogan. Air strikes and artillery bombardments were conducted on 181 targets.

The UN Security Council will meet later on Thursday for an emergency discussion of the Turkish raid.