World Bulletin / News Desk

Turkey’s defense minister said Saturday he hoped Syrian refugees would be able to return home safely after ISIL is cleared from an area along the border between the two countries.

Fikri Isik said once Operation Euphrates Shield had removed terrorists from the frontier area, refugees would be able to return to the area.

“Our wish is our Syrian brothers’ safe return to their own country after it is cleansed of ISIL and the formation of locations where they can live comfortably and feel safe,” he said at an opening ceremony in Turkey’s northwestern province of Kocaeli province.

The operation was launched on Aug. 24 when Free Syrian Army forces backed by Turkey liberated Jarabulus from ISIL. The terror group has since been removed from most of the border territory in once controlled.

Turkey, which hosts more than 2.7 million Syrians who have fled the war, has long promoted the creation of a safe zone for refugees in northern Syria.

Earlier, Nuh Kocaaslan, the mayor of Karkamis, the Turkish town across the border from Jarabulus, said 20,000 people had returned to the Syrian city since it was cleared of terrorists.