Today.Az » World news » Angelina Jolie visits Syrian refugees in Turkey
18 June 2011 [09:00] - Today.Az
Hollywood star and United Nations goodwill ambassador Angelina Jolie arrived in Turkey Friday to visit Syrian refugees who have fled the violence in their country, local media reported.
Amidst heavy security, Turkish officials greeted Jolie upon her arrival at Hatay Airport, where she had flown by private jet from the Mediterranean island of Malta.
Jolie was taken to a tent city in the town of Altinozu where about 1,400 Syrians are staying, one of four such locations set up by the Turkish Kizilay (Red Crescent) for the refugees.
She was expected to spend several hours meeting with residents of the camp and distributing children's toys that she brought to Turkey, dpa reported.
Close to 10,000 Syrians have crossed the border into Turkey in recent days to escape a violent military crackdown on anti-government protesters in the province of Idlib.
Despite calls by President Bashar al-Assad's government for refugees to return the north-western town of Jisr al-Shugur in Idlib, most have not been persuaded to come back.
At least 1,300 people have been killed and more than 10,000 detained in the country since protests calling for the ouster of Assad began in March, human rights groups say.
Another eight people were reported to have been killed in Syria on Friday as security agents used force against protesters rallying against Assad's regime.
Jolie, 36, received permission from Turkish authorities on Wednesday to visit refugees in Hatay.
The actress, who was named a UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Goodwill Ambassador in 2001, has visited numerous trouble spots around the world to call attention to the situation of refugees and internally displaced persons.
In April, Jolie traveled to the Tunisian-Libyan border, meeting with Libyans in Tunisia who had fled the unrest in their country.
/Trend/
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