Akçakale

Syrian refugees in Turkey have begun returning to their homes in Tal Abyad after Kurdish forces seized the border town in a major blow to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

UNICEF has said children account for more than half of all registered Syrian refugees in Turkey, making it the main shelter for vulnerable minors ahead of any other country.

Four journalists have been released shortly after being detained in southeastern Turkey over a question that irritated ?anl?urfa Governor ?zzettin Küçük, daily Evrensel has reported.

More than 23,000 refugees fleeing fighting in northern Syria have crossed into Turkey, the United Nations refugee agency said on June 16, quoting Turkish authorities.

At least 6,000 Syrian refugee children, who recently entered Turkey following a U.S.-led air offensive in northeast Syria, have been vaccinated by Turkish health officials against measles and polio.

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.

More than 2800 asylum seekers have crossed Syria's border with Turkey since Ankara moved to open its checkpoints for migrants over the weekend.

The numbers given by Anadolu Agency correspond to Syrians who used the southern Akcakale border gate to enter Turkey amid fierce fighting between Kurds and jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) group.

Turkey has received a new wave of refugees from Syria amid intensified clashes across the border, as tension rose at the Akçakale border gate in the southeastern province of ?anl?urfa due to Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants reportedly blocking the newcomers. 

Turkish security forces on June 13 used water cannon and fired warning shots to push Syrians away from the frontier as thousands massed at a border crossing to escape escalating fighting, an AFP photographer said.

Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmu? said Turkey has up to now allowed crossings of Syrians through Akçakale, but it will no longer let them enter and will henceforth stop their crossing, as ?there is no longer a humanitarian tragedy.?