Azernews.Az

ANKARA – Turkey is considering creating a buffer zone on its border with Syria if hundreds of thousands flee the unrest there, a Turkish newspaper report on Friday, Reuters reported.

Nearly 3,000 Syrians have fled into southern Turkey fearing a military assault and the Syrian army has begun a military operation near the border in the town of Jisr al-Shughour, Syrian television said on Friday.

"Foreign Ministry officials said that among scenarios that had been discussed was the creation of a buffer zone if hundreds of thousands want to seek refuge in Turkey," the Hurriyet daily reported.

However, this is not seen as a near-term prospect. Foreign Ministry officials were not immediately available to comment.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Thursday that Turkey would keep its gates open to people from Syria. But Damascus, he said, was taking the issue "very lightly" and Ankara could not defend Syria's "inhumane" response to the unrest.

The Syrian government has said armed gangs killed more than 120 security personnel in Jisr al-Shughour, a town of 50,000 near the Turkish border, earlier this week.

"We can't close our door to those people who run away for their lives, but how long is it going to be like this?" Erdogan told a Turkish television station in comments reported by state-run Anatolian news agency.

Anatolian said the number of Syrians seeking refuge had reached 2,792 people, with some crossing the border on Friday. Fifty-seven wounded people were receiving hospital treatment.

"We, as Turkey, cannot stand up for Syria in the face of all this. We still have relatives there," Erdogan said.

At the Yayladagi refugee camp, set in a picturesque valley just north of the Syrian border, children played football while families sat talking under trees. Police kept journalists away from the camp.

Turkey's Red Crescent set up the tent camp five weeks ago on the grounds of a disused tobacco factory and is now building a second camp as hundreds of refugees continue to arrive.