Now 100,000 Syrian refugees in Turkish camps
Istanbul , October 15, 2012
The number of Syrian refugees housed in camps in southern Turkey has exceeded 100,000, the Turkish disaster management agency (AFAD) said on Monday, a level beyond which Ankara had previously said it would struggle to accommodate more.
Turkey, which has taken on an increasingly leading role in international opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has called already for the UN to build refugee camps in a safe zone within Syria's borders.
AFAD said in a statement there were now 100,363 Syrians at more than a dozen camps in Turkish provinces along the border.
Tensions between Turkey and Syria have risen in the past two weeks because of cross-border shelling, and escalated on October 10 when Ankara forced down a Syrian airliner en route from Moscow, accusing it of carrying Russian munitions for Assad's military.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday Turkish air space had been closed to Syrian planes. Syria banned Turkish planes from flying over its territory on Saturday.
Meanwhile, international mediator Lakhdar Brahimi has asked Iranian authorities for help in achieving a ceasefire in Syria during the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha later this month, the UN said on Monday.
A statement issued after Brahimi held talks with officials in Tehran also said he underlined that the crisis in Syria "was getting worse every day and stressed the urgent need to stop the bloodshed".
Eid Al-Adha is due to start around October 25. - Reuters
