Turkey fears new wave of Syrian Kurdish refugees

Ankara, Sep 25 (IANS/EFE) Despite a two-day lull in the arrival of Syrian Kurds in Turkey, Ankara fears a new wave of refugees if jihadis from the Islamic State (IS), seize Kobani, one of Syria's major Kurdish cities.

Kobani, the third largest Kurdish city in Syria, on the border with Turkey, is besieged by jihadis armed with heavy artillery, while Kurdish militias have been defending it for the past week only with light weapons and Soviet-era grenades.

The Milliyet daily Thursday quoted sources from Turkish security saying the number of refugees might reach 400,000 if Kobani fell to the jihadis.

Since last Friday, at least 130,000 people have flocked to Turkey as the IS made inroads into Kurdish territory.

The Turkish city of Suruç, the first the refugees reach after crossing the border, has sheltered the Kurds in parks, sports facilities, schools and mosques, and has asked for help from the authorities.

The Turkish army has strengthened its presence on the border with the deployment of extra troops and armoured vehicles ready to face a new possible wave of refugees, media reported.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan complained in New York in a speech at the UN General Assembly that his country hosts 1.5 million of the four million Syrian refugees worldwide at a cost of $3.5 billion, while other European countries have sheltered only 130,000.

Meanwhile, tension has been mounting on the Turkish-Syrian border where authorities want to prevent thousands of Turkish Kurds from crossing into Syria to fight the jihadis.

The arrival of thousands of refugees has also caused a food supply crisis for the Turkish people, according to Huseyin Aygun, an opposition party MP.

--IANS/EFE

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