Thousands Cross into Turkey as Kurds Fight IS

A picture taken from the Turkish side of the border between Turkey and Syria shows Syrian refugees waiting at on the Syrian side of the border crossing in Akcakale, Sanliurfa province, south-eastern Turkey, June 14, 2015. EPA/BGNES

More than 2800 asylum seekers have crossed Syria's border with Turkey since Ankara moved to open its checkpoints for migrants over the weekend.

The numbers given by Anadolu Agency correspond to Syrians who used the southern Akcakale border gate to enter Turkey amid fierce fighting between Kurds and jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) group.

Kurds from the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD)'s military wing have been trying to push back IS from Northern Syria in the past two weeks, and this has forced many people living along the 900-km border between Turkey and Syria to flee.

However, the common border had been closed by Turkey earlier this year for security reasons.

The number of 3000 Syrians is in line with initial estimates of Turkey's capacity to accept new asylum seekers, officials believe. Millions have crossed into Syria's northern neighbor in the past years looking for shelter from the civil war that has been raging in Syria. Last year, IS offensives added to the crisis.

Ankara has now asked Europe for help to tackle the influx. Foreign Minister Mevl?t ?avu?o?lu hosted Sunday evening an ad hoc meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), calling on CE member states to help "share the burden" of giving shelter to so many refugees.

“Turkey has spent more than $6 billion so far for refugees. The international community’s help is only $300 million," H?rriyet Daily News quoted him as saying.

Kurds are meanwhile providing assistance to the US-led coalition in its attempts to regain control of Tal Abyad, an IS-controlled town serving as a supply line for its main city Raqqa.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!