• The state-run Anadolu Agency said Kurdish protesters threw stones at the security forces who prevented dozens of Kurdish onlookers from approaching the border. Bulent Kilic/AFP Photo
    The state-run Anadolu Agency said Kurdish protesters threw stones at the security forces who prevented dozens of Kurdish onlookers from approaching the border. Bulent Kilic/AFP Photo
  • But television reports said said the Kurds claimed they wanted to take aid into Syria. Ulas Yunus Tosun/EPA
    But television reports said said the Kurds claimed they wanted to take aid into Syria. Ulas Yunus Tosun/EPA
  • Turkey is facing one of the biggest influxes of refugees from neighbouring Syria since the war there began more than three years ago, according to the United Nations. Bulent Kilic/AFP Photo
    Turkey is facing one of the biggest influxes of refugees from neighbouring Syria since the war there began more than three years ago, according to the United Nations. Bulent Kilic/AFP Photo
  • The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Sunday that at least 70,000 Syrians crossed into Turkey in the past 24 hours - before the border was temporarily closed. AP Photo
    The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Sunday that at least 70,000 Syrians crossed into Turkey in the past 24 hours - before the border was temporarily closed. AP Photo
  • Turkish soldiers stand guard as Syrian refugees gather at the border. AP Photo
    Turkish soldiers stand guard as Syrian refugees gather at the border. AP Photo
  • A Kurdish commander on the ground said the Islamic militants had advanced to within 15 kilometers of Kobani. Reuters
    A Kurdish commander on the ground said the Islamic militants had advanced to within 15 kilometers of Kobani. Reuters
  • A Kurdish politician from Turkey who visited Kobani on Saturday said locals had told him that ISIL fighters were beheading people as they went from village to village. AP Photo
    A Kurdish politician from Turkey who visited Kobani on Saturday said locals had told him that ISIL fighters were beheading people as they went from village to village. AP Photo
  • ISIL has seized at least 64 villages around Kobani since the onslaught started on Tuesday. AP Photo
    ISIL has seized at least 64 villages around Kobani since the onslaught started on Tuesday. AP Photo
  • The UNHCR and the Turkish authorities said they were preparing for the possibility of hundreds of thousands more refugees arriving in the coming days. AP Photo
    The UNHCR and the Turkish authorities said they were preparing for the possibility of hundreds of thousands more refugees arriving in the coming days. AP Photo
  • Turkish soldiers stand guard as a Syrian refugee boy carries his belongings at the border in Suruc, Turkey, on Saturday, September 20, 2014. AP Photo
    Turkish soldiers stand guard as a Syrian refugee boy carries his belongings at the border in Suruc, Turkey, on Saturday, September 20, 2014. AP Photo
  • Syrian refugees carry a sick person towards the border in Suruc. AP Photo
    Syrian refugees carry a sick person towards the border in Suruc. AP Photo
  • The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Turkish authorities said they were preparing for the possibility of hundreds of thousands more refugees arriving in the coming days. AP Photo
    The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Turkish authorities said they were preparing for the possibility of hundreds of thousands more refugees arriving in the coming days. AP Photo
  • Syrian refugees walk at the border in Suruc, Turkey, late Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014. Several thousand Syrians, most of them Kurds, crossed into Turkey on Friday to find refuge from Islamic State militants who have barreled through dozens of Kurdish villages in northern Syria in the past 48 hours.(AP Photo)
    Syrian refugees walk at the border in Suruc, Turkey, late Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014. Several thousand Syrians, most of them Kurds, crossed into Turkey on Friday to find refuge from Islamic State militants who have barreled through dozens of Kurdish villages in northern Syria in the past 48 hours.(AP Photo)

World

In pictures: Clashes erupt as Turkey shuts down border with Syria

Rob Gurdebeke

September 21, 2014

  • English
  • Arabic

Turkish security forces on Sunday fired tear gas, water and paint pellets on dozens of Kurds in a village on the border with Syria, which tens of thousands of refugees have crossed to escape ISIL militants. The sound of gunfire could be heard from the Syrian side of the frontier where refugees were piling up after authorities temporarily closed the border.

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