Syria: Syrian troops massing on border in the Khirbat al-Jouz area, hundreds fleed in panic crossing turkish border
Syrian troops massed on the Turkish border overnight, witnesses said today, escalating tensions with Ankara as President Bashar al-Assad uses increasing military force against a popular revolt.
Hundreds of terrified refugees crossed into Turkey today to escape an army assault on the border regions, witnesses said.
Witnesses said the refugees streamed into Turkey from the Khirbet al-Jouz region in Syria to near Guvecci in Turkey.
Thousands of refugees are camped on the Syrian side of the border having escaped attacks on their villages and towns further south. More than 10,000 have crossed into Turkey over the past two weeks and are now in four official camps.
Protests have grown in northern areas bordering Turkey, following military assaults on towns and villages in the Jisr al-Shughour region of Idlib province to the west of Aleppo that had sent more than 10,000 fleeing to Turkey.
Troops were advancing on a main road leading from Aleppo, the commercial hub, to Turkey, residents said.