Turkey to open new refugee camp for Syrians

ANKARA - The Associated Press

Syrian refugees at the Islahiye refugee camp in Hatay, Turkey. EPA Photo

Turkey is building a new refugee camp for Syrian refugees to accommodate 10,000 people, officials said today, as hundreds more people fled the escalating violence.
 
The state-run Anadolu agency reported that at least 864 people had crossed the border into Turkey since Monday, including a general and four colonels.

A new camp is being set up near the town of Karkamis, in Gaziantep province on the border with Syria, Turkey’s crisis management center said. The camp will have a capacity to accommodate 10,000 people.
 
Meanwhile, the number of refugees in sheltering in eight camps along the 566-mile (911-kilometer) border with Syria reached 42,682 on Tuesday, the crisis center said. They are housed in eight camps.
 
he United Nations says the number of refugees who have sought help in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey has almost tripled since April. Jordan has taken 33,400 refugees, while 30,900 have arrived in Lebanon. Another 7,900 have sought sanctuary in Iraq.