UN : TURKEY SHELTERING 172,000 REFUGEES FROM KOBANI

Jenewa, 14 Dzulhijjah 1435/8 Oktober 2014 (MINA) – A total of 172,000 refugees from around the Syrian-Kurdish border town of Kobani have taken shelter in Turkey, the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, has said.

Speaking at a press conference at the U.N. headquarters in Geneva, UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards said: “The number of refugees who crossed the border was 172,000 as of last night.”

Regarding Turkey’s response to the Kobani crisis and influx of refugees, Edwards said, “The Turkish authorities are doing a great deal. They have a very substantial refugee population, Anadolu Agency quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Wednesday.

“They are still trying to develop camps. They are doing pretty much all that can be done under the circumstances.”

Asked whether ISIL attacks would go beyond the Syria-Turkey border, Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the UN high commissioner for human rights said: “l am sure that Turkey would react if anything happens beyond the border.”

“The neighboring state (Turkey) is a powerful state with a powerful military.” Asked how many people were left in Kobani, Colville said: “We believe there are not many.”

The UNHCR said September 23 that the Turkish government, together with the UNHCR, were preparing for the possibility that all the inhabitants of Kobani might flee.

ISIL militants who control large parts of territory in Syria and Iraq, are continuing their attacks on Kobani. (T/P002/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)