ANKARA
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has said a renewed effort will be made to stop the entry of terrorists into Turkey via the Syrian border without affecting the humanitarian passages for refugees.
Addressing the media after a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Ankara on Wednesday, Arinc said: "There should be a study against the terrorism threat, especially the aftermath of the bomb attack in Suruc district…we should avoid the entry of terrorists and the foreign fighters [along the Turkish-Syrian border] and to ease humanitarian passages".
Arinc said that several tragic events were on the agenda of the meeting, including the Suruc suicide bombing incident that left 32 people dead and the recent murder case of two police officers in their home in Sanliurfa.
"The two police officers were residing in the same home and we know that they were killed after getting shot in their heads while they were sleeping," he said.
The men were found dead at the home they shared in Ceylanpinar, a town on the Syrian border that lies 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Suruc, where Monday’s suicide bomb blast killed 32 people.
Arinc added that Turkey was planning to enhance its security system along the Syrian border. He emphasized that the most important thing was to block the passage points of terrorists.
"We see Daesh as a threat…our border security system will be reinforced by getting started with the urgent points. Physical blocks will be made to avoid the passage points of terrorists," he added.
Arinc said that there was a wrong perception that the Turkish government was not doing enough to deal with Daesh sufficiently. "This is a nefarious lie," he said. "Daesh is a terrorist organization and Turkey condemns it. Our country is determined to fight against this terrorist organization like it fights against all kinds of terror," he added.
He also said that almost 600 people had been detained so far since January 1, 2015, on suspicion of being linked with Daesh, out of which 102 were arrested and sent to jail.
He said that about 1,000 people joined Daesh in Syria since July 2015 and almost 2,000 people had joined the Syrian Kurdish group – Democratic Union Party (PYD).
He also informed that an agreement was reached with the Special Envoy for the U.S.-led anti-Daesh coalition, Gen. John Allen, during his visit to Ankara earlier in July for Turkey’s support for the coalition. Arinc added that both sides agreed to continue the train-and-equip program for Syrian fighters.
