ANKARA, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Already burdened with 1.37 million Syrian refugees, Turkey has been seeking to establish a protected zone in Syria to stem the wave of another humanitarian crisis spilling into its borders, Turkish analysts said.
"Turkey wants the international community to take care of refugees in the home territory, in Syria and Iraq, rather than taking them in," Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, an academic at Ankara's Gazi University and the head of Ankara's International Strategic and Security Research Center, told Xinhua.
He said Turkey felt the brunt of Syrian crisis since 2011 in terms of staggering number of refugees, lost trade, increased security threats and hefty bill on social security and healthcare.
"Ankara feels it was left alone to deal with these challenges on its own. Therefore Turkey does not want to repeat the same mistake, " he underlined.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu lashed out at the international community, saying that Turkey has spent 4 billion U. S. dollars on refugees so far.
"The contribution of the international community was only 150 million," he said.
Cavusoglu said Syrians must be able to live in Syrian lands in security, adding that "There must be a no-fly zone (over Syria). Turkey cannot do that on its own."
Analysts believed a safe zone in Syria can only work if it was accompanied with a no-fly zone that will bar Syrian regime forces from attacking civilians from the air. "Enforcement on such a plan is easier said than done," Mesut Cevikalp, a Ankara-based foreign policy expert said.
He said the United Nations Security Council resolution must be obtained before proceeding in setting up a no-fly zone to protect a secure zone in Syria.
"The U.S.-led coalition and NATO partners are the only ones that can enforce such decision," Cevikalp added.
MORE REFUGEES HEADED TURKEY
In the meantime, the refugee crisis keeps growing for Turkey as the militant Islamic State (IS) -- also known as Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) -- keeps pushing Kurdish-controlled villages in Northern Syria.
Turkish troops allowed Syrian Kurds fleeing the advance of the IS on Friday to cross into Turkey after blocking their access initially.
Of the some 3,000 people, most were denied permission to cross into Turkey on Thursday and had to return to their villages that night, but many came back in the morning amid continued IS attacks.
Speaking to reporters in New York, Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu said 10,000 Syrian refugees crossed into Turkey on a single day.
Cavusoglu who went to the U.S. to attend UN General Assembly meetings confirmed that Turkey will maintain "open door" policy for refugees.
Turkey has recently set up a camp for almost 40,000 Iraqi minority group Yazidis who fled Iraq in the face of killings perpetuated by IS militants.
In order to cope with more refugees fleeing Iraq, Turkey is setting up another camp, but this time in Northern Iraqi territory that will accommodate 35,000 people.
TURKEY DEVELOPS CONTINGENCIES
This week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a high- level security meeting in Ankara with the attendance of top government, military and intelligence officials to discuss the possibility of establishing a buffer zone to contain the IS advance.
There was no statement issued after the meeting, but the local media reported that the president instructed the military to draw contingency planning on the buffer zone.
Erdogan recently acknowledged that "The armed forces are working (on plans). They will bring them to us. We will decide if it is necessary."
The Cumhuriyet Daily reported on Wednesday the plan sees a multi-national coalition force that will protect a buffer zone covering parts of Iraq and Syria.
According to the report, the military estimates some 2 million refugees may be converged on Turkey's borders when the U.S.-led coalition starts hitting IS targets in Syria and Iraq.
Turkey is expected to propose a resolution on establishing a " no-fly zone" over parts of Iraq and Syria during the UN summit in New York on Sept. 21.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called UN Secretary General Ban Kimon on Friday to talk about refugees and growing humanitarian crisis in Syria and Iraq.
Davutoglu government advocates the view that the Syrians should receive help on the Syrian side of the border rather than in Turkey.
PLAYING SILENT ROLE
NATO member Turkey has not publicly committed to an alliance coalition announced this month to take on IS.
Turkey also did not sign a communique to fight IS at a counter- terrorism meeting in Jeddah last week held by the U.S. and Arab Allies.
Ankara cited 49 citizens, including diplomats and three Iraqi citizens, who were kidnapped by IS militants in June.
On early Saturday, Davutoglu said hostages have been brought safely back to Turkey by the country's intelligence agency.
"Today at 5 a.m. we brought our citizens who were detained in Iraq to our country," the Turkish prime minister said on his Twitter account.
Hostages were not the only concern for Turkey. Turkish police intelligence has issued a nationwide warning against some two dozen bomb-loaded vehicles transported by IS to Turkey.
The news portal T24 reported that it is also estimated that in Turkey there are 30 IS terrorists who may be suicide bombers.
Authorities fear that IS may have established cells in Turkish cities that may engage in terrorist acts, should Turkey take a step against the terrorist organization.
Another concern on the part of Turkey is the threat posed by the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), listed as terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and European Union.
"Turkey is worried that the PKK's participation in the fight will increase the international recognition of the latter and that they will equip it with more sophisticated weapons," Yasar Yakis, the former Turkish foreign minister and analyst said.
He warned that the PKK may grow more confident, enabling it to raise more demands from Turkey.
"It remains to be seen whether the international community will be able to take care of Turkey's sensitivity," he noted.
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