Syrian Troops Push to Turkish Border

Refugees flee regime's advance
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 24, 2011 1:04 AM CDT
Syrian Troops Push to Turkish Border
A makeshift camp appears empty hours after Syrians rushed to enter Turkey yesterday.   (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

Syrian troops pushed to the Turkish border Thursday in their sweep against a 3-month-old pro-democracy movement, sending panicked refugees, including children, rushing across the frontier to safe havens. The European Union, meanwhile, announced it was slapping new sanctions on the Syrian regime because of the "gravity of the situation," in which the Syrian opposition says 1,400 people have been killed in a relentless government crackdown.

More than 11,000 Syrians are housed or seeking shelter in Turkish refugee camps, including 600 who crossed over on Thursday, according to the Turkish Red Crescent said. The refugees came in a convoy of about 20 minibuses and some rushed on foot across the border, to be met by Turkish soldiers and escorted to nearby camps. Hillary Clinton warned Syria to pull its troops back from the border, describing the situation as "very worrisome." (More Syria stories.)

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