Turkey completes most of 'new city' in Syria's Idlib, housing 180,000 refugees

Turkey has completed most of the construction for a "new city" in Syria's northwestern Idlib governorate to house Syrian refugees displaced by years of conflict in the country.

Located around the tiny village of Mashad Ruhin, only 5km from the Turkish border, 30,000 out of 50,000 planned houses have been built, already accommodating some 180,000 Syrians.

Ankara maintains a military presence in Idlib, where it backs rebel groups that - along with extremist Islamist groups - control most of the province.

Turkey hosts more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees, which has become a major political issue in the country with some opposition parties calling for their return.

Turkey planned the "new city" last year in a bid to stop more refugees from coming entering the country.

The new urban centre includes a school, a hospital, a small shopping centre, and playgrounds for children, and is run by the Turkish Red Crescent.

According to Turkey’s Hurriyet, officials have vowed to complete the remaining 20,000 residential units in the near future.

Syrian refugees face widespread hostility in Turkey where hate crime against them has spiked in recent years. Politicians are capitalising on this as the country gears up for elections.

According to the UNHCR, there are 6.2 million people - including 2.5 million children - displaced within Syria, the biggest internally displaced population in the world.

This has come as a result of ten years of conflict in the country, which is believed to have killed over half a million people and destroyed much of the country.