You're reading: Turkey wants UN to house refugees inside Syria

ANKARA - Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday Turkey had discussed with the United Nations the possibility of housing Syrian refugees inside Syria and that Ankara expected the world body to take concrete steps towards this.

“We expect the United Nations to engage on the topic of
protecting refugees inside Syria and if possible sheltering them
in camps there,” Davutoglu told a news conference in Ankara.

Davutoglu said Ankara discussed the issue with the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres and the U.N. aid
chief Valerie Amos.

Turkey has floated the idea of a “safe zone” to be set up
for civilians under foreign protection as fighting intensifies
in a 17-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

Up to 5,000 refugees a day have been crossing into Turkey
over the past two weeks and the United Nations warned on Tuesday
that up to 200,000 people could settle in Turkey if the conflict
worsens.

Although there is no sign divided world powers are ready to
back a buffer zone and no-fly zone, as rebels and aid
organisations would like, U.N. Security Council foreign
ministers are expected to discuss the idea at a meeting on
Thursday which Davutoglu will attend.