ANKARA
A total of 23,349 Syrian refugees fleeing clashes in Syria have entered Turkey, the spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
"A total of 23,349 people have entered into our country since June 3," said Tanju Bilgic in remarks made at a weekly press briefing.
Over the past two weeks, Syrian refugees fled clashes in the city of Tal Abyad, which has seen fierce fighting between Daesh and Syrian-Kurdish fighters.
As the fighting in the area died down Tuesday, hundreds of Syrians crossed back into their country through Turkey’s Akcakale border on Wednesday.
"About 1,100 people have crossed back into Syria through the Akcakale border crossing," said Bilgic.
Bilgic said that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had sent letters to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, to the members of UN Security Council, the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres and to the EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini to raise awareness on the refugee issue.
"It was emphasized in the letters that Turkey faces important risks and threats coming from Syria since 2011," said Bilgic.
Turkey shares a 900-kilometer border with Syria and has sheltered more than 1.7 million Syrians, according to the UN.
According to government figures, Turkey has spent more than $6 billion so far for refugees while the international community's help has amounted to $300 million.
