- Kurdish civilians are flooding into Turkey to escape terrorist group Isis
- They are mostly women, children and the elderly, according to the UNHCR
- Isis has been using heavy weaponry on those fleeing, say eye witnesses
- Refugees say Isis has been beheading civilians and torching homes
- The terrorists are using military equipment given to Iraq by the U.S.
- Clashes broke out between Kurds inside Turkey and security forces
The
number of Syrians who have flooded into Turkey to escape Isis militants
has reached 130,000, with the terrorists firing on those fleeing with
heavy weaponry including rocket launchers, according to eyewitnesses.
Most
of them are Kurdish women, children and the elderly, and their arrival
since Thursday has pushed the conflict close to the Turkish border, with
one crossing closed to prevent Kurdish fighters crossing into Syria to
join the battle against Isis.
Much of the terrorist group's heavy weaponry has been stolen from the Iraqi military, and was supplied by the U.S.
Even children arrived at the border carrying heavy sacks of food and water
Fleeing terror: The number of Syrians who have flooded into Turkey to escape Isis militants has reached 130,000
Moving: A soldier comforts a little boy after he crossed the border with his family
Lucky ones: Syrian Kurds carry their belongings after crossing in to Turkey near the Syrian border
Young and
old: Most of the refugees are Kurdish women, children and the elderly
who have been forced to walk many miles through searing desert heat to
reach the Turkish border
Exhausted: Some have travelled so far that they simply could not continue and had to be dragged, carried or supported by family
Huge crisis: The Refugee Council described the diaspora as 'the greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War'
Relief: Syrian Kurds walk after crossing into Turkey at the Turkish-Syrian border
Escape: At a border crossing where
Turkish authorities were processing the refugees, Osman Abbas (not
pictured) said he and 20 relatives were fleeing a village near Kobani
when IS fighters shot one of his sons
End of a journey: Despite the huge
number of new refugees, Turkish authorities said they were ready to deal
with the influx. The conflict has pushed more than a million Syrians
over the border
Long wait: A Syrian refugee family waits near the Turkish-Syrian border for the green light to enter Turkey
Isis,
also known as the Islamic State (IS) is the al Qaeda breakaway group
which has established a caliphate, ruled by its harsh version of Islamic
law, in territory it captured straddling the Syria-Iraq border.
It
has in recent days advanced into Kurdish regions of Syria that border
Turkey, where fleeing refugees reported atrocities that included
stonings, beheadings and the torching of homes.
Anna
Musgrave, advocacy manager for the Refugee Council, described the
growing Syrian diaspora as 'the greatest refugee crisis since the Second
World War'.
'Countries
like Turkey which surround Syria have not had the luxury of choice
about the numbers of refugees they offer safe haven to,' she added. 'We
must stand alongside Syria's neighbours by opening our doors to refugees
fleeing the area.
As refugees flooded in, Turkey closed
the border crossing at Kucuk Kendirciler to Turkish Kurds in a move
aimed at preventing them from joining the fight in Syria, along with
several other crossing points
Desperate to
fight: Meanwhile, Kurdish protesters clashed with Turkish riot police as
they attemped to pass the Turkey-Syria border to support Syrian Kurdish
fighters (PYD) against Islamic State militants
Measures: Riot
police use teargas to disperse Kurdish demonstrators who were clashing
with Turkish security forces as thousands of Syrian refugees continue to
arrive at the border in Suruc, Turkey
Stand off: A Kurdish woman runs away from a water cannon as she tried to get in to Syria to fight IS
Fight by any means: The refugee crisis has brought Turkey even nearer to the war being waged by Isis
Many of the Kurds fighting Turkish troops were young boys armed with little more than slingshots and stones
Firing tear gas: Riot police use tear gas to disperse Kurdish demonstrators
A Kurdish protestor throws a firework at a Turkish armoured vehicle during the clashes
Burning issue: A car burns as Kurdish protesters desperate to get into Syria continue to clash with Turkish soldiers
'The
UK should urgently expand its resettlement scheme for refugees from
Syria. Surely our compassion should extend to helping more than 'several
hundred people' over three years.
'How can we ask Syria's neighbours to keep their borders open to refugees if we won't help share some of the responsibility?'
Yesterday,
heavy clashes broke out between IS militants and Kurdish fighters only
miles from the Syrian border town of Ain al-Arab, a strategic Kurdish
safe haven also known as Kobani.
The IS
was bombarding villagers with tanks, artillery and multiple rocket
launchers, said Nasser Haj Mansour, a defence official in Syria's
Kurdish region.
'They are even targeting civilians who are fleeing,' He said.
Speaking
of his decision to flee, Sahab Basravi said: 'When the Daesh (IS)
attacked Ain al-Arab, we were frightened. They said in the mosques that
they could kill all Kurds between seven and 77 years old. So we
collected our things and left, immediately.'
At
a border crossing where Turkish authorities were processing the
refugees, Osman Abbas said he and 20 relatives were fleeing a village
near Kobani when IS fighters shot one of his sons.
Syrians gathering on the
Turkish-Syrian border after fleeing from the clashes between Isis and
Democratic Union Party (PYD) forces in the Tal Abyad district of Syria's
Ar-Raqqah Governorate
Syrians wait at the coordination
center set up by the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Agency on
the Turkish-Syrian border
Syrian Kurds carry belongings as they cross the border between Syria and Turkey
A Syrian Kurdish girl cries after they
could not enter with their goats between Syria and Turkey near the
southeastern town of Suruc
The 35-year-old had tried to return to their home to recover valuables while the rest of the family fled.
'They took our village, they took our house, they killed my son,' he said. 'I saw it with my own eyes.'
Mustefa
Ebdi, a Kobani resident, local journalist and activist, said the
streets of his town - once home to about 50,000 people - were virtually
empty.
As
refugees flooded in, Turkey closed the border crossing at Kucuk
Kendirciler to Turkish Kurds in a move aimed at preventing them from
joining the fight in Syria, along with several other crossing points.
Only two posts remain open, and the interior ministry will now register new arrivals.
A
day earlier, hundreds of Kurdish fighters had poured into Syria through
the small Turkish village, according to the Britain-based Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
Clashes
broke out as Kurds trying to approach the crossing from inside Turkey
to take part in solidarity demonstrations scuffled with security forces,
who responded with tear gas, paint pellets and water cannons.
Terrorist group Isis have launched
attacks against the strategic Kurdish town of Kobani in Syria, forcing
thousands of civilians to flee north to Turkey
A man carries an elderly Syrian Kurd after they crossed the border between Syria and Turkey
Desperate: A Syrian Kurdish refugee woman at the border in Suruc, Turkey
Kurdish protesters clash with Turkish soldiers near the Syrian border after Turkish authorities temporarily closed the crossing
Two people were seriously injured in
the clashes, including one Kurdish politician who was taken to hospital,
the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions' Party said
A Kurdish protester prepares to hurl back a tear-gas cannister at the Syria-Turkey border
The state-run Anadolu Agency said the Kurdish protesters had hurled stones at the security forces.
Two
people were seriously injured in the clashes, including one Kurdish
politician who was taken to hospital, the pro-Kurdish Democratic
Regions' Party said.
Despite
the huge number of new refugees, Turkish authorities said they were
ready to deal with the influx. The conflict has pushed more than a
million Syrians over the border.
'We
have been prepared for this,' said Dogan Eskinat, a spokesman for
Turkey's disaster management agency. 'We are also prepared for worse.'
The SOHR said IS has taken control of 64 villages in northern Syria since the fighting began there on Wednesday.
It
says that the fate of 800 Kurds from these villages is unknown, adding
that IS had killed at least 11 civilians, including two boys.
The
Aleppo Media Centre, another activist group, said yesterday's battles
were concentrated on the southern and eastern suburbs of Kobani.
Selin
Unal, a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
said most of those coming across the border are Kurdish women, children
and the elderly.
She urged the international community to step up aid for Syrian refugees in Turkey.
'Turkey is assisting with all needs but it's huge numbers,' she said.
Kurdish protesters threw stones at Turkish security forces (top left)
Syrian refugees wait
near the Turkish-Syrian border after fleeing Syria. They have arrived
with reports of atrocities carried out by Isis on civilians, including
beheadings
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