Syria has planted landmines near its border with Turkey to stop fleeing refugees said Turkish deputy Prime Minister, Besir Atalay.
Around 1000 Syrian refugees crossed into Turkey in the last 24 hours on the one-year anniversary of the Syrian revolt.
“The number of Syrian refugees currently staying in Turkey boomed by 1,000 in a single day and climbed to 14,700 total,” ministry spokesperson Selçuk Unal told reporters in Ankara.
The latest wave of arrivals included a defecting general who crossed the border to join the rebel forces, which have a base in Turkey’s Hatay province on the border with Syria, according to Unal.
“With the Syrian general who arrived yesterday, we now host seven generals on our side of the border,” he said.
Near the halfway point of Turkey’s border with Syria, in Sanliurfa province, Turkey has already started building a massive camp site that can house up to 20,000 people, Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday.
Turkey is also establishing a “city” in Kilis, between Hatay and Sanliurfa, made of prefabricated homes to house the refugees, with some 10,000 due to be initially transferred to the site.
Another group of 700 Syrians arrived in Turkey on Tuesday night, signalling that the number of Syrians arriving at the border might continue to increase rapidly.
