Turkish officials have confirmed that a total of 2,800 Syrian refugees fleeing fighting have crossed into Turkey through the southern Akcakale border gate.
Fighting between Kurdish forces and Daesh rebels around Syria’s Tel Abyad town has fueled the new wave of desperate civilians trying to escape danger.
According to a statement released by the Turkish Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) on Sunday, the first intake started at 6.20 p.m. local time (1620 GMT) and ended at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT).
Over the past fortnight, the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD)’s military wing, known as the YPG, has been carrying out operations with the help of US-led coalition airstrikes in the northeast Syrian districts of Tel Abyad and al-Hasakah to push back Daesh forces.
Since the operations began, almost 15,000 civilians from adjacent villages and towns have crossed the border into Turkey’s southeastern Sanliurfa province, official sources told Anadolu Agency last Friday.
Later, Daesh militants began preventing civilians from crossing into Turkey, forcibly ordering them to move back to Tel Abyad.
"The registration and food necessities of refugees have been made by the Turkish Health Ministry, AFAD, the Turkish Red Crescent, police and security forces," Sunday's statement said.
Turkey shares an estimated 900-kilometer border with Syria, with around 13 border crossings. Some are now under Daesh terrorists’ control on the Syrian side, including Tel Abyad in Raqqa province, the statement added.
Earlier, Turkish officials said that most refugees fleeing Tel Abyad were Syrian Arabs or Turkmens rather than Kurds, and claimed that the YPG was trying to change demographics in the region.
"Ninety-eight percent of the region is made up of Arabs and Turkmens, but the PYD is changing the demographics of that region with aims to establish a Kurdish state by forcing Arab Syrians to migrate to Turkey," Sanliurfa’s governor told Turkish television Saturday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed US-led coalition airstrikes of contributing to the Kurdish group’s activities in Arab and Turkmen lands.
