Ümit Özdağ, the leader of Turkey’s Victory Party, has called for the deportation of Afghan and Syrian refugees from the country. He stated that these refugees pose a “security threat” to Turkey and should be returned to their home countries as soon as possible. Özdağ, a prominent rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, added that Iran recently expelled over 500,000 Afghan refugees and that Turkey should take a similar step. According to data from Turkey’s Statistical Institute, approximately 139,251 Afghan refugees were officially residing in Turkey in 2024.
