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UNHCR Looking Into Reports Turkish Border Guards Shot Syrian Refugees

© AP Photo / Lefteris PitarakisFile photo of a Turkish army soldier guards the border area with Syria as in the background Syrian refugees wait in Syria in order to cross into Turkey, in Akcakale, southeastern Turkey, Monday, June 15, 2015
File photo of a Turkish army soldier guards the border area with Syria as in the background Syrian refugees wait in Syria in order to cross into Turkey, in Akcakale, southeastern Turkey, Monday, June 15, 2015 - Sputnik International
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The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) expressed concern about the lack of safeguards in the border between Syria and Turkey regarding the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal.

Refugees walk along a beach before trying to travel to the Greek island of Chios from the western Turkish coastal town of Cesme, in Izmir province, Turkey, in this March 5, 2016 file photo. - Sputnik International
EU-Turkey Migrant Deal Under Threat as Doubts Grow Over Processes
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is concerned about reports that Turkish border guards may have shot Syrian refugees as they crossed the border and is seeking further information about the incident, UNHCR spokesperson told Sputnik.

On Thursday, The Times newspaper reported, citing the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, that Turkish border guards had shot refugees attempting to escape the civil war in Syria. At least 16 migrants were killed, including three children, according to the newspaper.

"UNHCR is concerned about the reports but cannot ascertain the[ir] authenticity at this stage. We are seeking further information," Ariane Rummery, UNHCR spokeswoman on Iraq and Syria-related situations, including Egypt and Syrian refugees in Turkey, said.

Rummery added that UNHCR had already expressed concern about the lack of safeguards in place regarding the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the Brookings Institute in Washington March 31, 2016 - Sputnik International
Erdogan Calls for ‘Terror Free Zone’ in Northern Syria to Resettle Refugees
Groups of Syrian refugees, including women and children, have been forcibly and illegally rounded up and sent back to Syria by the Turkish authorities since mid-January, Amnesty International said in a report released on Friday.

According to the rights group, all forced returns to Syria are illegal under Turkish, EU, as well as international law, especially in light of the fact that unaccompanied minors, pregnant women and sick people were targeted by such roundups.

In late March, Turkey and the European Union reached an agreement to put an end to the so-called Balkan route used by migrants to travel through Greece and Macedonia to wealthier EU states.

Under the deal, Turkey pledged to take back all illegal migrants who arrive in the European Union through its border and in their place send legal Syrian refugees to the bloc on a one-for-one basis.

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