Syrians flee to Turkey as offensive continues

Syrian troops continued to shell restive areas and sent tanks and snipers into battle rebels in the Damascus suburbs yesterday.

It was a broadening of the government offensive that appears to be aimed at crushing pockets of opposition less than a week before an internationally sponsored cease-fire is to take effect, activists said.

With fighting escalating, the stream of Syrians fleeing to neighbouring Turkey has picked up considerably. Some 2,500 crossed the border on Thursday alone, said Ankara’s foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The daily flow has doubled since Syria promised to abide by a truce.

Mr Davutoglu told United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon yesterday his country would seek UN assistance if the influx continues. Turkey has proposed creating a small buffer zone inside Syria if refugee flows become overwhelming, a step that could set the stage for possible further escalation.

“These developments are seriously worrying us,” Mr Davutoglu said.

The apparent trigger for the latest rush of refugees was an offensive by president Bashar al-Assad’s forces near the town of Idlib, close to Turkey.

Activist Fadi al-Yassin said 95 people were killed during the offensive in the nearby village of Taftanaz, and that the bodies were placed in mass graves by residents after government troops pulled out on Thursday.

Mr al-Yassin said another village nearby, Killi, was being shelled yesterday.

“They devastated Taftanaz, all houses demolished, everything destroyed,” Hikmet Saban, a Syrian refugee who reached Turkey, told Turkey’s state-run news.

“Helicopters and tanks are bombarding continuously. Taftanaz has been burnt to the ground for three days.”