Desperate Syrians surge across Turkish border
Thousands cross via broken fence as Kurdish fighters battle ISIL
AKCAKALE, TURKEY — Thousands of Syrians cut through a border fence and crossed over into Turkey on Sunday, fleeing intense fighting in northern Syria between Kurdish fighters and jihadis.
The flow of refugees came as Syrian Kurdish fighters closed in on the outskirts of a strategic town held by ISIL on the Turkish border, Kurdish officials and an activist group said, potentially cutting off a key supply line for the extremists’ nearby de facto capital.
Taking Tal Abyad, some 80 kilometres north of the ISIL stronghold of Raqqa, would deprive the militant group of a direct route to bring in new foreign militants or supplies. The Kurdish advance, coming under the cover of intense U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in the area, would also link their two fronts and put even more pressure on Raqqa.
In this Turkish border village, the refugees took by surprise the Turkish troops stationed there, who were overwhelmed by the large number of people crowding the crossing. Thousands of people had been gathering for more than a day on the Syrian side of the Akcakale crossing before they broke through Sunday afternoon.
People threw their belongings over the fence while others passed infants into Turkey over barbed wires before following through a several-metre-wide opening in the border fence.
Turkish troops later brought in reinforcements and gathered up the refugees on the Turkish side of the border, preventing them from going deeper into Turkey.
Turkish deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus, speaking earlier on the situation at the crossing between Tal Abyad and Akcakale, claimed those refugees were not fleeing fighting between Kurds and ISIL, but were rather trying to escape to Turkey in case their villages are hit by U.S.led coalition bombings.
He said Turkey was providing humanitarian aid to them on the other side of the border while taking in anyone who is sick or injured. Kurtulmus said Turkey has taken in more than two million refugees since 2011.
“We are of the opinion that there isn’t a humanitarian tragedy there,” Kurtulmus told CNN-Turk television. “Our priority is for them to remain within their border. We will continue to provide humanitarian aid to them.”
Hours later, Turkey reversed its decision and opened the border to allow in more refugees, but ISIL militants prevented them from crossing, Anadolu Agency reported.