Turkey Houses Asylum-seekers Mostly From Iraq And Iran

ESKISEHIR - Nearly half of asylum-seekers in Turkey were Iraqis last year, UN officials said on Sunday.
Officials of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said over 7,500 people, wishing to seek asylum, applied to UNHCR in Turkey.
48 percent of these people were Iraqis, 22 percent were Iranians, 15 percent were Somalians, 9 percent were Afghans, and 6 percent were from other countries, UNHCR officials told the A.A.
53 percent of refugees in Turkey were people coming from Iraq, 31 percent were from Iran, 9 percent from Somalia and 3 percent from Afghanistan, they added.
Aliens, who are coming from non-European countries, are taken under international protection and given temporary residence permit in Turkey with "asylum-seeker" status.
Resettlement procedures of those persons who are granted protection under "asylum-seeker" status by the Turkish authorities and recognized as refugees under UNHCR`s Mandate is carried out by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
(TÇ-AY)