Turkey not expecting massive refugee influx from Mosul, Deputy PM Kaynak says


Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak said on Friday that Turkey does not expect a massive refugee influx from Mosul and he added that the risk of acid rain is very little in Turkey.In recent days Daesh terrorists torched a sulfur plant south of the Iraqi city of Mosul and the clouds of toxic sulfur dioxide were expected to arrive in Turkey as winds picked up in the region. Commenting on this issue during a press conference at the Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) headquarters, Veysi Kaynak said that there was barely any risk of acid rain. ''The wind is expected to change direction and therefore the risk of acid rain in Turkey is very little,'' Kaynak said.qRegarding the ongoing Mosul operation and its effects, Kaynak said that Turkey did not expect a massive refugee influx from Mosul. ''Definitely some refugees will come to Turkey; however, we don't expect a massive refugee influx like in the Syrian civil war. This is because Mosul is geographically quite far from Turkey and there are other settlement areas for up to 200,000 people around Mosul,'' he said.Stating that AFAD and the Turkish Red Crescent Kızılay officials were in northern Iraq to observe the real situation in the field, and to take preventive measures, Kaynak also added Turkey has a three-stage plan in case of a refugee influx. ''In the first stage, our aim will be to keep people who flee from Mosul in the safe zones. To do this we will provide food and basic needs for these people. There are nine refugee camps in that region and we can use these camps as the second stage. We have already made necessary preparation to improve conditions in these camps. And lastly, if these people go towards Turkey we are planning to divert them to the camps that have spare capacity,'' he said.Stressing that Turkey wants to prevent any kind of ethnic and/or sectarian conflict in the Middle East, Kaynak also reminded that Turkey's success in the Euphrates Shield Operation should be inspiration to other coalition forces. ''It's estimated that Daesh has between eight to 10,000 militants in Mosul and 65 countries, who are members of the anti-Daesh coalition, are making plans to defeat these militants. The Mosul operation can be easier with the right planning, like what we did in Operation Euphrates Shield, however, countries have their different agendas,'' he added.