THREAT TO REFUGEES AS ISIL MAKES MAJOR GAIN

I STANBUL Thousands of civilians fled an ISIL offensive Sunday as the terrorist movement achieved its most significant advance along the Turkish border for two years. The three-pronged at- tack threatened to overrun the last swath of territory in eastern Aleppo province held by non- jihadist rebels. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, said more than 6,000 people had sought safety in Kurdish-controlled territory to the west. Others joined the burgeoning number of civilians camped along the Syrian side of Turkey’s now closed border. As many as 165,000 displaced people may now be scattered in fields and informal settlements along the frontier, as well as in the nearby town of Azaz.

Although Turkey says it has an open- door policy for Syrians fleeing war, the border remains closed to all but the severely injured, and Turkish police have shot refugees trying to cross illegally.