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Over 20,000 Syrian refugees enter Turkey in past two weeks

Xinhua, June 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

More than 20,000 Syrian refugees have entered southeastern Turkey in the past two weeks, a Turkish statement said on Tuesday.

"In the past two weeks, a total of 20,997 people, who entered Turkey, were registered," said the statement issued by the Turkish Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).

Over the past two weeks, the military wing of the Syrian-Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), known as the People's Protection Units or YPG, has been carrying out operations with the help of U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in the northeast Syrian districts of Tal Abyad and al-Hasakah to push back the Islamic State (IS) militants.

The IS militants had attempted to prevent civilians from crossing into Turkey, forcibly ordering them to move back to Tel Abyad.

The Free Syrian Army and the Syrian-Kurdish People's Protection Units took control of Tal Abyad on Monday.

Turkey shares an estimated 900-kilometer border with Syria, with about 13 border crossings. Some on the Syrian side are now under Daesh's control, including Tal Abyad in Raqqa province, according to a previous AFAD statement.

Turkey, once an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, is currently a fierce opponent of his, supporting opposition efforts to topple him. Endit