Turkey's FM Calls U.N. Chief as Refugees Pour in from Syria
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Ankara has urged the U.N. to send officials to its border with Syria, where record numbers of refugees fleeing an assault by troops backed by helicopters have poured into Turkey in less than two days, a diplomatic source said Friday.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu urgently called U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon in the early hours of Friday after more than 2,800 Syrians crossed into the country in the last 36 hours, reportedly fleeing a helicopter-backed assault by government troops, the source said on condition of anonymity.
"Davutoglu told the U.N. chief that we have received more than 2,800 newcomers -- that is the highest number of arrivals in a 36-hour period," he said.
The minister pleaded with Ban to "send officials to see the situation on the ground."
"The Syrian army backed by helicopters is carrying out operations in the border regions" sparking an exodus of refugees into Turkey, the source said.
With the latest arrivals on Thursday and Friday, the number of Syrians currently staying on Turkish soil has reached 23,835, according to official data from Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency.
Fleeing Syrians are mainly housed in the southeastern provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep and Kilis, as government officials keep ready additional accommodation in Sanliurfa province, located on the midway of the 910 kilometer border between Turkey and Syria.
Fighting has raged in Syria despite the regime accepting an April 10 deadline to withdraw forces from protest hubs as part of a ceasefire plan by U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.
According to the plan, Assad's forces are to withdraw from provinces and halt crackdown on dissent by April 10, and allow humanitarian aid to reach Syrians, almost 10,000 of whom have died in unrest that erupted mid-March last year.
Ankara, a former ally to Damascus, cut off contact with President Bashar Assad and voiced support for the Syrian opposition and rebels after its calls for an immediate stop to bloodshed went unheeded by the regime.
