Syrians in Turkey rounded up for return as Assad pummels last rebel stronghold

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The officers at the police station in Istanbul handed Karim Abdullah a piece of paper to sign. After reading the words “voluntary return to Syria”, his heart sank.

The Syrian refugee had been arrested off the street a day earlier for failing to produce the right documents. 

Mr Abdullah, 28, had been claiming asylum in Turkey for the last five years after fleeing the brutal conflict next door. But now, like hundreds of others detained by authorities in the last few weeks, he was being forced to return to the warzone. 

“The first officer played nice, telling me ‘you should sign, don’t worry, it’s just routine procedure’,” Mr Abdullah, who asked that his real name not be published for security reasons,…

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