Two Syrians die in Turkey bus crash en route to deportation centre

Two Syrian migrants were killed on Monday after a bus transporting them to deportation centres in Turkey crashed.

At least ten others were critically injured in the accident after the bus carrying 45 passengers spun out of control in central Sivas province en route to a deportation centre in Turkey's southeast.

Hundreds of Syrian refugees in Turkey have been arbitrarily deported to Syria this year. It comes amid a wave of racism against them with Syrians blamed for Turkey's current economic crisis.

#عاجل | وفاة شابين #سوريّين وإصابة 30 إثر انقلاب حافلة للشرطة التركية كانت تقلهم إلى مراكز الترحيل #تركيا pic.twitter.com/Aragy7gtzP

— Adnan Al Hussein 🇳🇱 (@Adnan_Alhusen) November 7, 2022

The injured migrants were transferred to nearby hospitals where they received treatment.

"The accident occurred as a result of the bus going out of control… two Syrian migrants lost their lives... the bus driver and other passengers were injured, 10 of them seriously," Sivas governorate said in a statement.

Three Turkish law enforcers on board were among the seriously injured.

There are around 35 deportation centres in Turkey, most of which are in the south of the country, sources told The New Arab’s Arabic-language service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

The Human Rights and Equality Institution of Turkey filed a lawsuit in August against one of the deportation centres over its alleged mistreatment of refugees.

Activists say Turkey's deportation of Syrians is also immoral, due to the dangers in Syria as the country's decade-long war continues.

This includes rights activist Taha Al-Ghazi who told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that Turkey's deportation policy goes against the 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 protocol - ratified by Turkey - that provides protection for refugees.

Turkey currently hosts approximately 3.5 million Syrian refugees.