Syrian border crisis on cabinet agenda

Thousands of people have poured over Syria's border to Turkey, fleeing a battle between Kurdish forces and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) near the border town of Tal Abyad, prompting close attention from Turkey's cabinet.

Turkish authorities closed the border on June 14 after allowing in at least 3,000 people, as thousands of others remained stranded, with many spending the night outside the frontier fences.

Dozens of Syrian refugees poured into Turkey on June 15 after Ankara reopened the border. Some 400 Syrians had initially been given permission to enter Turkey June 15 through the Akçakale border crossing in the southeastern province of ?anl?urfa, with some 1,000 clustered behind barbed wire, AFP reported.

Forces from the Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) and the Women's Defense Forces (YPJ) backed by Syrian rebels advanced on the southeastern edge of Tal Abyad, also known as Gire Spi, on June 14, as U.S.-led strikes against ISIL fighters continued. 

Syrian Kurdish forces cut June 15 a vital supply road linking the flashpoint border town of Tal Abyad to ISIL's bastion of Raqqa, a Kurdish commander told AFP.  

"The Kurdish People's Protection Units have cut the route" leading south out of Tal Abyad, which lies on the Syrian-Turkish border, said commander Hussein Khojer.  

Last week, approximately 16,000 people fled to Turkey to escape the fighting, but the border has been closed sporadically, with Ankara saying it would only allow refugees into the country in the event of a humanitarian tragedy. 

"If Turkey accepts a new wave of refugees from Tal Abyad, it means that Turkey should be prepared for an influx of at least 100,000 refugees," Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmu? said June...