(VOVworld) - Turkey's foreign minister said on Saturday that tens of thousands of displaced Syrians and refugees have returned to an area controlled by Turkey and Turkish-backed opposition fighters in northern Syria.

A Syrian family put up tent on the outskirts of Manbij town after evacuating from the conflict area between Kurdish force and IS (Photo: AFP/ VNA)

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's comments came three days after Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield that began in August had ended after its troops and allied rebels secured territory along the border between Turkey and Syria. Cavusoglu said some 50,000 people have returned from Turkey to areas that have been captured by Turkish troops and Turkey-backed opposition fighters, adding that security in these areas should eventually be handed to local forces.