US envoy to UN visits refugee shelter in south Turkey

By Lale Koklu

HATAY, Turkey

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, visited a shelter for Syrian refugees in southern Hatay province on Thursday.

The Boynuyogun Temporary Refuge Shelter hosts 8,063 Syrian refugees. Turkish officials told Haley about the care provided to Syrians at the shelter.

The ambassador also played with Syrian children on a football field built by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) along with Hatay's Altinozu municipality.

Haley met Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Tuesday night to discuss the Syrian refugee crisis.

The envoy on Wednesday also participated in a ceremony to mark the opening of a school, which was funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund and Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency.

Millions of Syrians were forced to flee their homes when war began six years ago in their country. According to the Turkish government, it hosts nearly three million refugees, comprising mostly those who escaped Syria.

Reporing by Lale Koklu;Writing by Satuk Bugra Kutlugun