Over 400 Syrians were flown back home from Beirut Friday evening after their scheduled flights to Turkey were cancelled when its new visa regulations came into effect at midnight. The 407 Syrians en route to Turkey were forced to stay overnight Thursday at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut after the two Turkish Airlines flights were cancelled. As of Friday, passengers are required to possess Turkish visas prior to boarding.
The group arrived from Syria Thursday on the Syrian airline Cham Wings and their connecting flight to Istanbul was scheduled to land in Turkey before midnight. When technical problems delayed the departure, the flights were cancelled, as all passengers would have been denied entry to Turkey. Two Cham Wings planes, carrying most of the passengers back to Syria, left Beirut Friday. The remaining 46 Syrians are expected to be taken back early Saturday, a source at the airport told The Daily Star.
Amnesty International has called the conduct of Lebanese authorities “an outrageous breach of Lebanon’s international obligations to protect all refugees fleeing bloodshed and persecution in Syria,” and called on the government to halt all further deportations. Amnesty also criticized the new Turkish regulations for presenting “another hurdle for Syrians desperate to seek a sanctuary.”
Prior to the new measures, Syrians could enter Turkey without a visa and stay for up to 90 days over a six-month period. Following EU pressure to discourage migration to Europe, Turkey announced in December that starting Jan. 8, it would require Syrian nationals arriving by air and sea to obtain a visa.
The announcement led Syrians to rush to Turkey in the days leading up to the new regulations, leading to heavy congestion at the Beirut airport Wednesday and Thursday.
