Ankara to Allow Turkish MPs to Visit Syrian Rebel Camp

Turkey said Wednesday it will allow Turkish lawmakers to visit a refugee camp set up for Syrian army defectors in a bid to quash rumors that the camp morphed into an underground rebel training base.

"We are working on allowing access into all (refugee settlements), including Apaydin camp, for members of a relevant parliamentary commission," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in televised remarks.

Davutoglu was referring to parliament's human rights commission, which will be the first to gain access to the well-guarded Apaydin camp that shelters some 30 defecting generals as well as hundreds of troops.

The opposition and media had attacked Ankara for allowing "shady" formations within the Syrian armed opposition, which formed the Free Syrian Army on Turkish soil to fight Syrian government forces across the border.

The government has for months barred journalists and opposition lawmakers from gaining access to the Apaydin camp, located only four kilometers (2.5 miles) from Syria.

The minister reiterated his earlier remarks that the camps were operating under U.N. rules, and that the government had to separate civilians from army defectors "in line with relevant legislation, not out of preference."

A delegation from the parliamentary commission is expected to visit the camp "within a week," according to private NTV news channel.

Over 80,000 refugees are registered in Turkish camps set up along the 910-kilometer border and this number stood at around 45,000 in late July.