Syrian refugees top 200K in Turkey

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ANKARA, Turkey, March 10 (UPI) -- Turkish officials said more than 200,000 Syrian refugees have flooded over the border to escape two years of violence to oust President Bashar Assad.

An estimated 186,000 refugees are living in camps over the border in Turkey, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. The camps are being managed by the Turkish government with support from the U.N. High Commission on Refugees, or UNHCR.

The U.N. commission is operating similar camps in Jordan where still more Syrian refugees have fled, Today's Zaman said.

The number of Syrian refugees could double or even triple by year's end if the conflict continues, UNHCR chief Antonio Guterres said, and called for greater international support for the refugees and their hosts.

"We need to be prepared for the increasing numbers of Syrians," he said. "The international community should share the burden with Turkey because this is a collective responsibility, not only the responsibility of Turkey."