Stop shooting at Syrian civilians fleeing ISIS-controlled zones, HRW tells Turkey

Human Rights Watch has called on Turkey to stop firing on Syrian civilians fleeing fighting and allow them to cross the Turkish border.

Human Rights Watch has called on Turkey to stop firing on Syrian civilians fleeing fighting and allow them to cross the Turkish border.

The UN Refugee Agency asked Ankara to provide data on possible refugee deaths in shelling on the Syrian border.

“As civilians flee ISIS fighters, Turkey is responding with live ammunition instead of compassion,” Gerry Simpson, senior refugee researcher at HRW, said in a statement.

 “The whole world is talking about fighting ISIS, and yet those most at risk of becoming victims of its horrific abuses are trapped on the wrong side of a concrete wall,” he added.

The human rights watchdog highlighted that Turkey’s border still remains “firmly shut” a year after the authorities started rejecting all but the most seriously injured Syrians.