More than 47,000 migrants have left Turkey since the country opened its borders with Europe, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said late Saturday.

Turkish officials announced Friday that they would no longer try to stop irregular migrants from reaching Europe.

The decision was made after 36 Turkish soldiers were killed by the Bashar Assad regime forces in Idlib, northwestern Syria. The Turkish soldiers were deployed to the region to protect local civilians under a 2018 deal with Russia under which acts of aggression are prohibited.

Since then, thousands of irregular migrants have flocked to the northwestern Turkish province of Edirne to make their way into Europe.

Turkey already hosts some 3.7 million migrants from Syria alone, more than any other country in the world.

The nation has repeatedly complained that Europe has failed to keep its promises to help migrants and stem further migrant waves.