Turkey's state-run agency says Syria's first man in space has fled to Turkey and joined opposition forces fighting President Bashar Assad's regime.

The Anadolu Agency says Mohammed Ahmed Faris crossed into Turkey on Sunday after reaching Syria's second largest city Aleppo and declaring his solidarity with the Free Syrian Army.

Anadolu said it was Faris' fourth attempt to defect. The agency gave no other details on his escape and provided no source for the report.

Anadolu said Faris, who was born in Aleppo in 1951, was part of a three-man crew of a Soviet space mission in 1987.

Turkey is hosting some 45,000 refugees in camps along the 911-kilometer (566-mile) border and is also a staging ground for the Free Syrian Army rebels.