Turkish security forces battle Syrian refugee camp unrest

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Sunday that Turkish security forces have used tear gas, batons and firedshots into the air to quell unrest at two camps housing Syrian refugees.

More than 43,000 Syrians have taken refuge in eight camps along Turkey’s 566-mile (911-kilometer) border with Syria, but Sunday was the first time official media reported violence among the refugees that required security forces to intervene.

The Anadolu agency said that police used tear gas and batons against refugees who hurled stones at buildings and tried to leave a camp in Kilis province to protest insufficient food and water.

Anadolu said refugees fought over housing at another camp in neighboring Gaziantep province, leaving seven of them injured. Turkish security forces fired shots into the air to suppress the unrest, the agency said.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.