Turkish FM urges UN to step in Syrian refugee inflow
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E-mail Xinhua, April 6, 2012
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday urged the United Nations to step in if the influx of Syrian refugees into Turkey continued.
Speaking at a press conference at Ankara's Esenboga Airport before his departure for Istanbul, Davutoglu said that he made an urgent telephone conversation with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on early Friday, asking the United Nations for more efforts.
The Turkish foreign minister said he told Ban that the number of Syrians crossing into Turkey in the last 24 hours hit a record high at about 2,500 people.
Davutoglu said he informed Ban about the Syrian government's " intense military operations" near the Turkish border. "I told him an urgent initiative is needed and the clashes should be halted," he said.
Ankara "is seriously concerned" over the escalation of alleged crackdown on the Syrian protestors after the initial "cautious optimism" on UN-Arab League envoy for Syria Kofi Annan's plan, Davutoglu said.
He underlined that the daily inflow of Syrian refugees had almost doubled since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad accepted Annan's plan last week.
Turkey has already sheltered more than 23,000 Syrian refugees in camps in the southern area.
The United Nations said more than 9,000 people have been killed in the Syrian unrest, which began with protests about one year ago.
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