Category Archives: News Digest

HarekAct offers a topical and chronological collection of news on the EU-Turkish border regime under this section. We link to external newspapers and websites and do not hold the copyright.
Views and opinions expressed in the articles published on HarekAct are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of all editorial board members.

The Prison within the Prison within The Prison

Deportation Monitoring Aegean published a report about the detention complex of Moria camp on Lesvos Island.

The report describes the legal grounds for detention in Greece and the actual policy of detaining migrants, focusing on the situation in the pre-removal prison of Moria camp. It criticizes detention of migrants on arrival based on their national belonging and the conditions of detention, following individual stories of asylum seekers held in detention. Continue reading The Prison within the Prison within The Prison

Istanbul Syria peace offers few solutions to the conflict

Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron during a summit to find an end to the war in Syria, in Istanbul, on October 27, 2018. AFP

Via the National

Syria and Washington were both absent from the talks aimed at ending a war in its eighth year.

A “complete cease-fire,” an “inclusive Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process” and “safe and voluntary return of refugees” were some of the phrases uttered by Turkish and European leaders at a summit in Istanbul on Saturday, aimed at laying the groundwork for a peace process in the devastating civil war in Syria, now in its eighth year. Continue reading Istanbul Syria peace offers few solutions to the conflict

Refugee camps flooded, 6 dead as heavy rains hit Lebanon, Turkey

Via Middle East Monitor

Refugee camps flooded, six dead as heavy rains hit Lebanon, Turkey [Twitter]
Refugee camps flooded, six dead as heavy rains hit Lebanon, Turkey [Twitter]

Flooding in Lebanon and Turkey has left refugees dead after heavy rains hit the region and swamped refugee camps.

Videos shared by member of the Syrian Negotiations Committee Hadi Albahra, reportedly from refugee camps near the Lebanese border town of Arsal, show the ground completely flooded, with tents and belongings destroyed.

This article was originally published by Middle East Monitor

‘The head is Turkish, the body Syrian’: Expanding Turkish influence in northern Syria

We feel the urge to publish this internal view of Syria:direct from the out-of-sight Turkish-Syrian border, that is further moved into the northern Syrian territory. Since the Turkish state is increasingly investing in both internal and external policies for the return of Syrian refugees, in addition to the EUropean border regime that is extra fortified via the externalization of controls even-beyond the neighboring Turkey, it is vital to keep an eye on the ongoing situation at the Northern Syria. Apparently, Northern Syria became a regional refugee accommodation center for the displaced Syrians, with Turkey’s effort to exert control over the area through various mechanisms.  Therefore the region’s condition is a central determinant both for the responses of Syrian refugees in Turkey (be it from the region or not) to the incentives of return, and for the Syrians in Syria in considering their survival chances within the region or the options of further movement.


Via Syria:direct

Inauguration of a courthouse in a-Rai in September. Photo courtesy of the National Police and General Security Forces in a-Rai.

AMMAN: When the governor of Turkey’s Kilis province arrived at the opening ceremony of a new courthouse in the northern Aleppo town of a-Rai last month, he was met by Turkish music blasting out of speakers and salutes from local Syrian police officers.

This article was originally published by Syria:direct.

Two children died after migrant boat sinks off western Turkey -reports

Via Ahval News – At least two children have drowned, and several others are missing, after a boat carrying migrants sank just 50 metres off Turkey’s western coast near the resort of Bodrum early on Monday, Turkish news site HaberTürk reported .

Nineteen people on the boat were rescued, and three made it ashore by themselves, HaberTürk quoted coast guards as saying.

The Guardian on unlawful deportation from Turkey to Syria

Via The Guardian [16.10.2018]With tension mounting in Idlib, people trying to flee across the border are being given the choice of detention or waiving their right to asylum

The Syrian town of Atimha, at the border wall between Turkey and Syria.
The Syrian town of Atimha, at the border wall between Turkey and Syria. Photograph: Osman Orsal/Reuters

Tareq* can recall in detail each of the 22 times he climbed over the concrete border wall, dodged a flurry of bullets, and sprinted as fast as he could – until Turkish border guards caught him and turned him back.

*Names have been changed to protect identities


This reportage was published by The Guardian