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66,000 Syrian Kurds flee to Turkey amid IS offensive

In the wake of an offensive into Kurdish towns by militants calling themselves the Islamic State, tens of thousands of Syrian refugees, mostly Kurds, have fled to safety in Turkey.

By Fred Lambert
Syrian civilians flee in a vehicle at Houla near Homs, September 9, 2012, government forces shelled a number of areas in northern Syria part of efforts by the regime to target rebel strongholds.Troops used planes to hit several homes in Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. UPI
Syrian civilians flee in a vehicle at Houla near Homs, September 9, 2012, government forces shelled a number of areas in northern Syria part of efforts by the regime to target rebel strongholds.Troops used planes to hit several homes in Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. UPI | License Photo

KOBANE , Syria, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- In the wake of an Islamic State-offensive on Kurdish towns in northern Syria, about 66,000 Kurds have fled into neighboring Turkey.

Since Tuesday, fighters loyal to the group calling itself the Islamic State began gaining ground in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported . By Friday, IS fighters used tanks and other heavy weaponry to seize at least 60 Kurdish villages in the countryside around Kobane, displacing tens of thousands of Kurds. Kurdish YPG fighters were forced to withdraw from the villages.

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The BBC reports that on Friday Turkey opened its border to the refugees. In 24 hours, about 66,000 had crossed over into Turkey, seeking escape from the fighting.

"As of today, the number of Syrian Kurds who entered Turkey has exceeded 60,000," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said from Sanliurfa, a southern province where the refugees have fled.

Turkey has opened its borders to refugees before; since the Syrian Civil War began, Turkey has taken in 847, 266, according to The UN Refugee Agency.

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As the refugees went north, hundreds of Kurdish fighters from Turkey went south into Syria to assist YPG fighters defending Kobane, which lies a little over 90 miles northeast of Aleppo.

The Observatory reported that clashes between these forces and IS fighters are underway in the countryside surrounding Ayn al Arab, the Arabic name for Kobane, which is what the city is called in Kurdish:

"18 fighters from the Islamic State, including a Chinese one, died while others were injured due to destroying 5 armored personnel carriers belonged to IS by YPG fighters in the countryside of Ayn al Arab."

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