"New fighting in northern Syria has seen 23,135 refugees fleeing across the border into Turkey's Sanliurfa province," during that period, spokesman William Spindler said, citing figures given by Turkish authorities on Tuesday.
"Some 70 percent are women and children," he said.
"Most of the new arrivals are Syrians escaping fighting by rival military forces in and around the key border town of Tal Abyad, which was controlled by militants and faces Akcakale across the border," he said.
"But they also include so far 2,183 Iraqis from the cities of Mosul, Ramadi and Fallujah," he added.
"UNHCR staff say most refugees are exhausted and tired and arrive carrying just a few belongings. Some have walked for days," Spindler said.
He said UNHCR had provided 27,000 items of children's clothing, 33,000 blankets and 8,000 mattresses after being asked for assistance by Turkey's emergency relief agency.
Kurdish militia, backed by Syrian rebel forces, seized full control of Tal Abyad from the Islamic State group early on Tuesday, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights group.
The town's fall is a heavy blow to IS, which had used the adjacent border crossing with Turkey to bring in fighters and ammunition, and smuggle out black market oil, analysts say.
AFP
TV100F.com
16/6/15
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Related:
Number displaced worldwide hits record high - UN report...
ReplyDeleteThe number of people displaced by war, conflict or persecution reached a record high of nearly 60 million around the world in 2014, a UN report says.
The document by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, says the number of people forced to flee their homes rose by 8.3 million from the previous year.
The continuing conflict in Syria is seen as a major factor behind the record numbers.
UNHCR head Antonio Guterres told the BBC the "world is a mess".
"The drama is that if people think that humanitarians can clean up the mess. It's no longer possible. We have no capacities to pick up the pieces.
"More and more people are suffering, and unfortunately for many of them there is no chance to support them."
Mr Guterres said that the number of displaced people had increased to 42,500 per day in 2014 from 32,000 the year before......BBC