Islamic State 'attacking refugee camps' in Syria

Asylum-seekers dig holes to protect themselves as militants take over camp on Turkish border

Turkey Refugees
Syrian refugees on the border with Turkey flee from water cannons in a previous clash

Islamic State (IS) has attacked a number of camps set up to house internally displaced Syrians near the border with Turkey, killing at least three people and prompting a new wave of refugees to flee the violence.

Sputnik News, the Russian state-backed news agency, says IS has seized five villages from the Free Syrian Army in the northern Aleppo province. "In the midst of the advance, Syrian civilians have been fleeing toward the Oncupinar border post," it says.

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Turkish troops opened fire on civilians fleeing the violence, in an attempt to turn them away at the border, says The Guardian.

"As we approached the border wall, we saw Turkish soldiers on a hill behind the wall and they just started shooting at us," said one refugee.

Humanitarian organisation Human Rights Watch has called on the Turkish government to open its border. "The head of Ikdah camp, on the Turkish border, said that Isis had taken over the camp, which sheltered just under 10,000 people," it says. "People in the camp who couldn't escape quickly enough were digging holes to protect themselves."