Syria: General defects, escapes to Turkey with thousands
A Syrian flag fies from atop a tent as Syrian refugee children play on a playground set up between tents in the Boynuyogun Turkish Red Crescent refugee camp in the Altinozu district of Hatay, near the Syrian border, on June 20, 2011. According to the UNHCR report released on Monday, June 20, more than a quarter of the world’s refugees live in just three nations: Pakistan, Iran and Syria.
ANKARA, Turkey – A Syrian brigadier-general and several other defected military officers were among 1,280 Syrians to have fled from Syria to Turkey overnight, a Turkish official said on Tuesday.
The official said the latest defections brought the number of Syrian generals sheltering in Turkey to 18, including a retired general. An undisclosed number of officers also defected with their families, totalling 68 people including family members.
A total of 1,280 refugees crossed over into Turkey's southern Hatay province overnight, bringing the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey to 42,680, the official said.
(Writing by Jonathon Burch, editing by Diana Abdallah)
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