KILIS, Turkey — Turkey has reached the end of its "capacity to absorb" refugees but will continue to take them in, the deputy premier said Sunday, as his country faced mounting pressure to open its border to tens of thousands of Syrians who have fled a government onslaught.
Turkish authorities say up to 35,000 Syrians have massed along the border, which remained closed for a third day Sunday. The governor of the Turkish border province of Kilis said Saturday that Turkey would provide aid to the displaced within Syria, but would only open the gates in the event of an "extraordinary crisis."
Turkey is hosting 3 million refugees, including 2.5 million Syrians, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told CNN-Turk television. Kurtulmus estimated that "in the worst case scenario," as many as 1 million more refugees could flee Aleppo and surrounding areas.
Some 15,000 refugees from Syria were admitted in the past few days, Kurtulmus said. He put the number of refugees being cared for on the other side of the border at 30,000.
The European Union urged Turkey to open its borders Saturday, saying it was providing aid to Ankara for that purpose. EU states have committed $3.3 billion to Turkey to help refugees, part of incentives aimed at persuading Turkey to do more to stop thousands of migrants from leaving for Greece.
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