Remains of over 1,700 Syrian quake victims taken back home

Bodies of over 1,700 Syrian migrants who were killed in Turkey by the earthquake on 6 February have been taken to Syria, Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Thursday.

The victims' remains were transported through five border crossings, most of them through Bab al-Hawa.

A Syrian refugee named Ahmad told Asharq Al-Awsat Turkish that he lost his wife and children in the earthquake, and after bringing their remains back to Syria he decided to stay there.

"About five years ago we moved away from our homeland in the southern countryside of Aleppo to take refuge near the city of Antakya," he said. "I worked hard in construction jobs to support my family, but there is no more any reason for me to stay there after my family's death."

Sixty-two-year-old Mousataf al Hac, who fled his country for Turkey 10 years ago, said his house in Hatay's district of Kirikhan was destroyed by the earthquake and that he is planning to stay in one of the camps for the displaced in the Syrian town of Sarmada.