Turkish officials to discuss Syrian refugees

Turkey's high-ranking officials will discuss the ongoing relief efforts made for the Syrian refugees in the country, a Turkish aid agency announced. Turkey's deputy minister Besir Atalay will chair the meeting, which will focus on the relief efforts coordinated by the Turkish aid agency as well as other issues related to the Syrian refugees in Turkey, said the statement.
"A large group of cabinet ministers, senior government and military officials, governors and mayors will convene Friday to discuss ongoing efforts regarding the Syrian guest community in Turkey," the Turkish Disaster Emergency Agency (AFAD) said in a statement Thursday. Prime Minister-designate and current Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, as well as Interior Minister Efkan Ala, Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Celik, National Education Minister Nabi Avci, Family and Social Policies Minister Aysenur Islam and Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu are all expected to attend the meeting.
More than 100,000 people have been killed during the three-year conflict in Syria between the regime of Bashar al-Assad and opposition groups, according to the U.N.
The fighting, which entered its fourth year in March, has also internally displaced more than 6.5 million people. An additional 2.5 million are registered as refugees in the neighboring countries of Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq. More than 1 million have crossed into Turkey since April 2011.