100,000 Syrian Kurds have fled to Turkey

Syrian Kurds were fleeing Kobane which had been relatively safe compared to the rest of Syria

Last updated: September 15, 2018 | 18:44

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REUTERS

Geneva: Some 100,000 Syrian Kurds have crossed the border into Turkey over the past few days, fleeing an advance by Isil militants who seized dozens of villages near a strategic border town, the UN said Monday.

The Turkish government “confirmed the figure” of 100,000, said Melissa Fleming, the spokeswoman for the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR.

The UN body on Saturday said that as many as hundreds of thousands of refugees might flee the fighting.

Syrian Kurds were leaving the area around Ain Al Arab, or Kobane, as the town is known in Kurdish, which is under attack by Isil forces.

Until now, Kobane, the third biggest Kurdish population centre in Syria, had been relatively safe and had taken in 200,000 people displaced from elsewhere in Syria.

Turkish soldiers stand guard as Syrian Kurds cross the border fence into Turkey near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, September 19, 2014. Several thousand Syrian Kurds began crossing into Turkey on Friday fleeing Islamic State fighters who advanced into their villages, prompting warnings of massacres from Kurdish leaders.

Syrian Kurds gather after crossing into Turkey near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on September 19, 2014. Several thousand Syrian Kurds began crossing into Turkey on Friday fleeing Islamic State fighters who advanced into their villages, prompting warnings of massacres from Kurdish leaders.

Syrian Kurds walk by Turkish soliders after crossing into Turkey near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, on September 19, 2014. Several thousand Syrian Kurds began crossing into Turkey on Friday fleeing Islamic State fighters who advanced into their villages, prompting warnings of massacres from Kurdish leaders.

Syrian Kurds stream from their war-torn country into Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region. It provides a welcome respite from the fighting ravaging their home districts.

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