About 2,400 Syrians reach Turkey to flee violence

About 2,400 people, including two generals, fled the violence in Syria to reach neighbouring Turkey overnight, the state-run Anatolian news agency said on Wednesday.

The group is mostly made up of women and children from areas near the Syrian towns of Aleppo and Idlib, but also includes a total of 37 defecting military personnel, the agency said.

Nine people were being treated at a hospital in Reyhanli in Turkey’s Hatay province, it said.

No one was immediately available at the Turkish Foreign Ministry to confirm the report.

Before the latest wave overnight, the ministry on Tuesday said 47,500 Syrians were sheltering in Turkey, compared with 44,000 refugees at the end of July.

Turkey is worried a flood of refugees from Syria’s biggest city of Aleppo, now engulfed in heavy fighting between President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebel fighters, could overwhelm its ability to care for them.

The 17-month uprising against Assad’s rule in Syria has created a refugee crisis in Turkey and other neighbouring countries.

Opposition sources say at least 18,000 people have been killed since the revolt began in March 2011.