A Turkish soldier stands guard as Syrian Kurds wait behind the border fence near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province,
A Turkish soldier stands guard as Syrian Kurds wait behind the border fence near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province Reuters

The influx to Turkey of Syrian Kurds fleeing an offensive by the Islamic State (also known as Isis) has reached 130,000 in the past three days according to Turkey's deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus.

The Sunni Islamist group, which has conquered vast swathes of land between Iraq and Syria and established an Islamic state or caliphate, has advanced in the Kurdish regions of Syria that confines with Turkey, sending tens of thousands of refugees across the border.

Jihadists seized dozens of villages near the strategic border town of Kobani, committing massacres, stonings, beheadings and torching of homes in the prevalent Kurdish community.

Nasser Haj Mansour, a defence official in Syria's Kurdish region, told AP that militants target civilians who are escaping those massacres using tanks, artillery and multiple rocket launchers.

Kurtulmus confirmed the stunning figure of 130,000 Kurds flooding the border and warned that Turkey is poised to face the worst scenario, should Isis offensive on Kobani be successful.

As the refugees poured in, Turkey shut down the border crossing at Kucuk Kendirciler to Turkish Kurds to block them from joining the fight in Syria.

That caused clashes between Kurds, who tried to approach the border crossing from inside Turkey, and security forces who fired teargas, paint pellets and water cannons. Turkish authorities said the Kurdish protesters had launched stones at the security forces. Two people were injured in the clashes.

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