Number of Syrian refugees in Turkey exceed 137000

The number of Syrians who have crossed into Turkey to flee the months-long violence in their country has exceeded 137,000, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said Wednesday. "At the moment, there are 137,756 people who have taken shelter in Turkey after fleeing the internal conflict in Syria," Atalay said at the opening of a meeting held with senior officials to coordinate efforts regarding Syrian refugees, noting that these people were living in tents and containers. The actual number is likely to be much bigger since the official figures do not include the tens of thousands of Syrians who are unregistered and living in Turkish homes. Turkey established a total of 13 tent camps in addition to a container camp, which are capable of hosting 12,000 refugees, in Kilis in southern Turkey. There are also five tent sites in Hatay province.