In an ironic twist it seems that the SNC and FSA are trying to make Antakya (the capital of Hatay Province) and southern Hatay into a kind of Syrian provisional capital in exile.
Many Syrians believe that Hatay is still a part of Syria and that it was stolen from Syria in 1938 when Syria was ruled by the French under the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon.
It is believed, but not officially confirmed, that some FSA fighters are trained there and that the FSA is commanded at least partially from there.
Wounded FSA fighters are taken there for treatment and FSA fighters go there for R & R.
Every hotel in Antakya that has western reporters in it also has at least a few what I would call SNC ‘lobbyists’ staying there too. The ‘lobbyists’ spend their time pushing the SNC/FSA position.
It seems that most of the cross border traffic (people, weapons and supplies) between Turkey and Syria occurs along the part of the border which is between Turkey and the northwestern part of the Idlib Governorate.
The area also seems to be the base in Turkey for what are considered to be ‘jihadists’ and Islamic radicals.
11,000 registered Syrians citizens are housed in five camps in Hatay, but there are also an estimated 25,000 non-registered Syrians there, mostly in Antakya which has a population of about 225,000.
There is a palpable sense of disquiet in Antakya and southern Hatay. There is also a strong undercurrent of anger and fear.
Accounts of theft and of Syrians’ refusal to pay for food and services abound, as do accounts of Syrians’ refusing to be treated by Alawite or non-Sunni doctors or nurses in hospitals. There are also a small number of accounts of people in Antakya and southern Hatay being intimidated by Syrians.
During the day life in the city is quite normal, but at night some areas of Antakya seem to be taken over by Syrians.
I heard about a park in Antakya where Syrians like to congregate at night and won’t let non-Syrians come into the park, so I went there and watched from a distance and observed just that.
One distraught man in a village near the border told me that his son had been kidnapped by Syrians and taken across the border. Another woman in another village told me that she had caught two ‘Syrians with long beards’ who were trying to kidnap her children. She said they ran off after she started screaming.
I found only one man in Hatay who openly supported the SNC and FSA. He also told me that he was happy that the Turkish Government was helping the Sunni Arabs in Syria and that he was waiting for the time when the Sunni FSA would kick all the Alawites out of Syria so they would have to come to Turkey and stay in camps.
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The Turkish media yesterday carried reports of two Turkish Members of Parliament who had gone to Hatay to visit the Syrian camps there. The MPs were refused entry to the camp which is alleged to be the headquarters of the FSA in Hatay.
After the MPs were refused entry to the camp they called a news conference at the entrance to the camp to describe what had happened. After they finished the administrator of the camp, a Syrian named Abu Hüseyin Niami - described as being about 35 years old and wearing a military camouflage uniform, came to the entrance of the camp and gave a statement in Arabic.
He is reported to have said ‘We want to unite with the Syrian Government which has been established in Egypt. We are waiting here in this camp for this’.
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I apologize for the shortness of these posts but please remember that I am on the move and quite tired. When I have time I will write more in more detail.
These are links to my earlier posts on this:
Background
Part 1
According to the latest press release of the Disaster and Emergency Management Office of the Turkish Government, dated August 24, 2012, there are currently nine camps for Syrians in Turkey; five in Hatay Province, one in Gaziantep Province, one in Kilis Province, and two in Şanlıurfa Province. (It isn’t mentioned in the press release but I understand that four more camps are under construction.)
The press release states that as of August 24, 2012:
110,772 Syrian citizens had entered, and been registered, in Turkey,
32,363 of the registered Syrian citizens had returned to Syria,
There were 11,062 registered Syrian citizens in the camps in Hatay Province,
There were 11,740 registered Syrian citizens in the camps in Gaziantep Province - with 3,631 of them being temporarily housed in schools, school dormitories and sports facilities,
There were 15,092 registered Syrian citizens in the camps in Kilis Province - with 2,950 of them being temporarily housed in schools and school dormitories,
There were 24,947 registered Syrian citizens in the camps in Şanlıurfa Province,
There were 6,589 registered Syrian citizens being temporarily housed in school dormitories in Kahramanmaraş Province,
There were 3,129 registered Syrian citizens being temporarily housed in school dormitories in Adana Province,
There were 951 registered Syrian citizens being temporarily housed in school dormitories in Adiyaman Province,
There were 1,491 registered Syrian citizens being temporarily housed in school dormitories in Osmaniye Province,
There were 2,936 registered Syrian citizens being temporarily housed in school dormitories in Malatya Province,
There were 414 registered Syrian citizens hospitalized in Turkey, with 58 family members accompanying them.
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