Highlights
• On 26 May 2013, AFAD - the Disaster and Emergency Management Agency of Government of Turkey announced that the total number of Syrians registered and accommodated in 17 camps in 8 provinces has increased to 195,011 including 396 Syrians receiving medical treatment in hospitals.
• AFAD reported that since Friday 24 May and during the weekend , 1,723 new arrival Syrians were registered and accommodated in the camps and 1,633 Syrians voluntarily returned to Syria. This brought the total number of new arrivals in 2013 to more than 67,000 and the cumulative number of voluntary returns in 2013 to more than 38,000.
• It was officially announced that the Coordination Center in Sanliurfa province is now open and registering non-camp Syrians. As of Friday 24 May, nearly 1,900 Syrians have been registered and issued individual ID cards which enable them to have access to free medical services. Local authorities informed UNHCR that the Sanliurfa Governorate will open branch offices in every town of the province to conduct registrations. The same software will be used in all the towns of Sanliurfa so double registrations will also be minimized.
• Coordination centre staff centre informed UNHCR that during the registration basic bio-data as well as special needs information (such as food, clothing, shelter and medical concerns) will be collected. Reportedly, officials expect to share the information with NGOs and other stakeholders to sollicit their support.
• In Sanliurfa, the Governorate , AFAD and UNICEF opened a school in the city center for the children of non-Camp Syrians children from 1-8 grade on 24 May 2013. The school was officially opened by the Governor of Sanliurfa province with the participation of UNICEF Representative and AFAD. Other UN agencies and Sanliurfa NGOs attended the ceremony. Reportedly for the higher grades (9-12), the Governorate is in search of appropriate space.
• In Kilis, the number of Syrians living in makeshift tents in a central Kilis park increased over the last few days. On Sunday 26 May, reportedly Police and AFAD invited volunteers to be moved to an IDP camp near Kilis in Syria, where accommodation and infrastructure is in place to receive up to 80 families. It is not known if any Syrians accepted the offer. UNHCR has discussed the matter with authorities and is continuing the closely monitor the situation.
