UN urges Turkey to open doors; warns Aleppo could lack aid

Kilis: Turkey must open its doors to the thousands of Syrians who have massed at the border after fleeing violence, the UN demanded on Tuesday, warning that hundreds of thousands of others in Syria's largest city could be soon cut off from humanitarian aid amid blistering Syrian and Russian airstrikes.

Turkey, already home to 2.5 million Syrian refugees, insists it has an open-door policy toward Syrians escaping conflict but has still kept a key border crossing closed for days. Government officials say Turkey will provide assistance to the displaced Syrians within their own borders "as much as possible" and would allow them in "when necessary."

The UN humanitarian office OCHA said 300,000 people could be cut off from aid if Syrian government and allied forces encircle the city of Aleppo and deprive those fleeing from their last way out. OCHA said local leaders believe up to 150,000 people could try to flee to nearby Afrin and the surrounding countryside.

Separately, UNHCR spokesman William Spindler asked Turkey on Tuesday to open the border to "all civilians who are fleeing danger and seeking international protection as they have done since the start of this crisis."

Spindler also urged other nations to shoulder more of the refugee burden and to work to end the conflict.

"The answer to this crisis is for the peace process to continue in Syria and for the conflict to be solved," Spindler said.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu urged the world to speak out against Russia for "mercilessly bombing civilian targets" in Syria. He predicted that Russia would eventually retreat from Syria in "embarrassment" - in a similar manner to the Soviet forces who once pulled out of Afghanistan.

"Those ... who turned Syria into a bloodbath will certainly pay for it one day," Davutoglu said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said as many as 50,000 people had reached the border, trying to escape intense Russian bombings around Aleppo. He estimated Tuesday that up to a million more could flee if the onslaught continues.

Several aid trucks could be seen moving Tuesday through Turkey's Oncupinar border crossing, opposite the Bab al-Salameh gate in Syria, which remained shut to refugees for the fifth straight day. Turkish authorities and charities are assisting the Syrians at a refugee camp near the border.

One of the few Syrians who managed to cross into Turkey from Oncupinar recently was six-year-old Aya al-Sharqawi - who was wounded in Russian airstrikes 10 days ago at her hometown of Tel Rifaat - and her uncle, Abdelrahman al-Sharqawi.

"I went to buy (biscuits)," the girl said from her hospital bed at the Kilis hospital. "When the plane came I started running. I was near the entrance of my sister's house when the plane came and dropped a bomb."

Her uncle said the girl was first taken to a field hospital in Tel Rifaat, which then sent her to Turkey for further treatment.

Also being treated at the Kilis hospital was Ejnad Akkad, a fighter for the opposition Free Syrian Army, who was wounded by a mine planted by the Islamic State group near the border with Turkey.

"The Russian planes have decimated people. The (improvised explosive devices) and mines belonging to (IS) have also slaughtered people," he said. "The (Syrian) regime is advancing only thanks to the Russian warplanes and Shiite militias."

At a joint news conference with his Hungarian counterpart in Budapest, Cavusoglu said Turkey was admitting refugees in "in a controlled manner" and that 10,000 Syrians had been allowed in recently. He did not elaborate, and it was not clear if he was referring to the thousands of Syrian Turkmens who were admitted into Turkey earlier this month.

The UN's World Food Program said Tuesday it has begun shipping lentils, pasta, beans, vegetable oil, wheat flour, sugar and other items to the town of Azaz northwest of Aleppo, near the border with Turkey, and hopes to continue in coming days.

"We are extremely concerned, as access and supply routes from the north to eastern Aleppo city and surrounding areas are now cut off," said Jakob Kern, the WFP country director for Syria. "But we are making every effort to get enough food in place for all those in need, bringing it in through the remaining open border crossing point from Turkey."

The war in Syria against President Bashar Assad's government has killed over 250,000 people and forced millions to flee their homes since it began in 2011.