45,000 Syrians ‘flee to Turkey’

Some 45,000 mainly Syrian Kurds have crossed into Turkey in the past 24 hours, officials say, as Islamic State militants advance in northern Syria.

Turkey opened its border on Friday to Syrians who had fled the Kurdish town of Kobane in fear of an IS attack.

Activists say some 300 Kurdish fighters have crossed into Syria from Turkey to help defend the strategic town.

IS controls large areas of Syria and Iraq and has seized dozens of villages around Kobane, also called Ayn al-Arab.

Turkey – which shares a border with Iraq and Syria – has taken in more than 847,000 refugees since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began three years ago.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus confirmed on Saturday that 45,000 refugees had crossed the border within a 24-hour period.

“No country in the world can take in 45,000 refugees in one night, bring them here unharmed and find them a shelter without a problem,” he said.

BBC