Stating that their house remained on the front line for two years, “One minute our village was under the control of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the next it was under the control of Daesh. When Daesh took full control, our only option was to leave,” he said.
“With my wife and six children we went to the refugee camps at Turkey’s border. When we were evacuating the village, Daesh began slaughtering my family due to the fact that we are Turkmens. They laid mines to prevent us from leaving. Ten of my family members perished because of the bullets and mines of the Daesh terrorist organization. I had to leave my home, where I lived for 25 years, and I became a refugee in my own country,” he explained.
Recalling their struggles at several refugee camps on Turkey’s border, “In the meanwhile we obtained bad news from our village. Others, who were not family members, were being slaughtered by Daesh because they were Turkmens,” Muhammed said.
After their three-year stay at refugee camps, Muhammed stated that they returned to their villages, which were purged of Daesh terrorists and, “The Turkish Armed Forces removed all the mines Daesh had laid and rendered the region a secure zone. And we have started to rebuild our village. Gradually, we are trying to make way.”
A report in March, 2017 by the UN put the number of refugees who have fled the war in Syria at five million, with millions more displaced internally since the conflict in Syria began in 2011.
