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Turkish border guards kill three trying to cross border

Xinhua, August 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Turkish border guards shot down three people and wounded another ten, who were attempting to cross into the Turkish territories from Syria, a monitor group reported Friday.

A women and a 19-year-old teenager were among the three killed when attempting to cross from the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad into the Turkish territories, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, citing sources.

"Back off and turn," the Turkish guards told the people who were believed to have been attempting to seek refuge before opening their fire on them.

The illegal border routes into Turkey have always been a destination to those who want to seek refuge in Turkey, or use the country as a conduit to reach Europe and seek refuge there.

The borders were not only confined to refugees. Militants from different parts of the world entered Syria through Turkey before the Turkish government decided to tighten the control over its borders and join the coalition against the Islamic State.

Friday's incident was not the first. A couple of incidents of shooting at refugee seekers were reported over the past month.

Reports on Friday indicated that Turkey has started building a wall on its side of the borders with Syria. Endit