Turkey to keep border crossing with Syria open

[News_Editor]

Turkey to keep border crossing with Syria open

2011-06-09 05:02:36 GMT+7 (ICT)

ANKARA, TURKEY (BNO NEWS) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday said that the border crossing with Syria will remain open despite the continuing arrival of refugees due to the unrest in the Middle Eastern country.

According to the state-run Anatolia news agency, a total of 122 Syrian people including women and children crossed into Turkey in the early hours of Wednesday. The refugees were fleeing from the troubled northern Syrian town of Jisr al-Shughour.

"What's going on in Syria is saddening. Our concern has risen. I hope the Syrian government changes its stance against civilians and carries out reforms to pave the way for a change and transformation in Syria," said Erdogan.

The 122 Syrian refugees were taken to a shelter in the border town of Yayladagi in Hatay province. Last month, 450 asylum seekers entered Turkey, 141 of them on Tuesday.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that preparations were made in advance with other institutions to cope with the situation. He added that if the conflict continues for an extended time it could have humanitarian, logistic, and legal dimensions.

The town of Jisr al-Shughour has been the stage of violent crackdown on protesters. Amnesty International said that at least 120 people were killed since Friday in what was labeled as "one of the bloodiest weekends in months of pro-reform demonstrations."

The Syrian government claimed that armed gangs terrorized civilians and vandalized public and private properties. At least 28 police officers and security personnel were killed just on Monday.

On Saturday and Sunday, 54 people were shot dead by security forces in Jisr al-Shughour. Forty-three of them were killed on Saturday while they were attending a funeral procession.

At least 69 people were killed on Friday in the central town of Hama when Syrian security forces opened fire on a "Children's Friday" protest in honor of the dozens of children killed in the recent unrest.

In mid-March, pro-democracy demonstrations began in Syria and have continued across the country, which has been ruled by the Baath Party since 1963. Protesters are demanding the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, who took over his father in 2000.

According to Amnesty International 986 people has been killed by security forces during the last 11 weeks. In addition, thousands more have been arrested. The number, however, does not include security personnel, many of whom have been killed in attacks by armed groups, according to the Syrian government.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-06-09