Hundreds of thousands in Syria flee IS, take refuge in Turkey

World Today

Syrian refugeesSyrian Kurds, fleeing an onslaught by the jihadist Islamic State (IS) group, cross the border between Syria and Turkey at the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province on September 27, 2014. Hundreds of Kurds broke yesterday through the Turkish border into Syrian territory to join Kurdish forces battling the advance of Islamic State (IS) militants around the Syrian town of Ain al-Arab. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC

The Islamic State crisis is continuing at full force. Those who are feeling the effects most are the those who have run away from their terror. Syrian refugees may have survived IS attacks, but their fight for survival continues in Turkey. CCTV America’s Michal Bardavid reports from the Turkish-Syrian border.

The United Nations agency for refugees estimates the number of refugees who have entered Turkey since September 19th, has reached 144,000. At the Yumurtalik border, tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have crossed since the recent fighting erupted around the city of Kobani. Many who arrive wounded are treated at a first aid tent.

Follow Michal Bardavid on Twitter @michalbardavid

The United Nations has announced it is urgently sending in relief items from global stocks for the spiraling needs of the thousands of refugees in Suruc, Turkey.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has recently called on the international community for support, stressing that the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey has reached 1.5 million and the country has spent over 4.5 billion dollars hosting them.

For more on the Turkish refugee crisis and Turkey’s role in the fight against the Islamic State, CCTV America spoke to Bulent Ali-riza. He is the Director and Senior Associate at the Turkey Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.