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While the West and Armenians in Turkey have welcomed a statement from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan regarding the events of 1915 on the eve of their 99th anniversary, in which he extended condolences from Turkey to Armenians for the first time in the history of the Turkish Republic, Armenia does not seem satisfied.
A group of Syrian Armenians entered Turkey on Saturday from Syria’s northwestern town of Kessab, just across from Yayladağı in the southern Turkish province of Hatay, accompanied by Syrian rebel forces.
According to the private Doğan news agency, 18 Syrian Armenians were brought to the Yayladağı border gate by members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The Syrian Armenians were reportedly welcomed by Turkish officials, including the district governor, the chief of the Yayladağı Police Department and border officers.
Turkey has started to host two senior Armenians from Syria who fled their hometown after jihadists allegedly backed by Ankara invaded their area.
Syrian rebels and their jihadist allies, the al-Nusra Front, launched a major offensive on Latakia nearly two weeks ago and have since seized several positions and villages including the Kasab area, home to a border crossing into Turkey, according to Agence France-Presse.
Türkiye-Suriye sınırının Suriye tarafındaki Keseb kasabasında rejimle muhalifler arasında süren çatışmalar, Türkiye sınırlarına taştı. Önce geçtiğimiz hafta Keseb’den Türkiye tarafındaki Yayladağı’na düşen havan mermisi, sonra çoğunluğunu tehcirden kaçan Ermenilerin oluşturduğu Keseb’de Ermenilerin katledildiğine dair iddialar dünyanın gündemine oturdu. Türkiye’ye sığınan iki yaşlı Ermeni kadın ise özellikle merak konusu oldu.