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More than 170,000 refugees from Kobane so far

Extremely difficult conditions for desperate people who try to escape from unimaginable atrocities by the jihadists

The UN refugee agency on Friday reported that many of the more than 170,000 people who have fled to Turkey from the besieged Syrian town of Kobane are seeking shelter in other parts of Syria or in Iraq's Kurdistani region.”

"In Iraq's Kurdistan Region more than 1,600 people have sought refuge at the remote Gawilan refugee camp, some 145 kilometres from Dohuk, over the past fortnight. Between 150 and 200 Syrians have been arriving daily this week, and the trend is expected to continue in the coming days,"

"Conditions in the area have been difficult. People have contended with living in crowded mosques or in some cases on the streets without food or money. Many of the refugees were required to leave cars or livestock at the border when they entered Turkey, and decided to move to northern Iraq because they have relatives or friends there,"

Refugees at Gawilan camp told UNHCR of the dangers they had endured in the initial part of their journey from Syria to safety in Turkey, with several accounts of people being killed or maimed by land mines as they tried to escape the ISIS push on Kobane. To enter Iraq's Kurdistan region, people waded across small rivers. Others paid smugglers to get through the informal border crossing at Silopi, near Zakho.”

The refugees also reported executions and other atrocities by ISIS fighters in recent weeks. One man said he had fled his village because prisoners were being beheaded. Another said he was held prisoner after being sentenced to death in a makeshift court set up in a school in Manbij [66 km south-west of Kobane]. He told UNHCR that some 400 prisoners were held in the school – 100 people per classroom. They were beaten with leather belts five times daily. He saw seven convicted men beheaded in front of him, and he was due to be executed on September 28, but managed to escape with others when the school was hit by bombs. This man still fears for the safety of his wife and children whose whereabouts are unknown to him.

In Turkey, government officials say more than 172,500 Syrians fleeing Kobane and surrounds have entered the country over the last few weeks. While the vast majority of these fled in the first few days of the influx, a steady stream continues with average daily arrivals of about 570 people over the past few days through the Yumurtalik border crossing.

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