Turkey calls for UN help with flood of refugees

Turkey called on the UN on Friday to send personnel to the Syrian border, where approximately 2,800 refugees have entered the country in the past few days fleeing from Assad troops.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said he spoke to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon early Friday to inform him after 2,500 refugees crossed into Turkey on Thursday.

He also said that the attacks by the Syrian military are “seriously worrying us.”

The Syrian army, backed by helicopters, is reportedly carrying out operations in the border regions sparking a mass flight of refugees into Turkey.

Turkish government officials have said recently that “a flood of refugees or massacres of civilians by Syrian troops near the Turkish border could force them to act to prevent a humanitarian disaster,” according to Hürriyet Daily News.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan mentioned establishing a safe zone on the Syrian border last month. He also said on Thursday he was not convinced Assad’s would comply with the UN-brokered ceasefire set to take effect on April 10.

More than 42,000 refugees have escaped the Syrian violence in the past year, according to the BBC, approximately 24,000 of whom have fled north to Turkey.

According to the UN, more than 9,000 Syrians have been killed in the year-long conflict.