Exodus at the gates of hell

Turkish troops had watched on helplessly yesterday as heavily-armed ISIS terrorists blocked the border crossing at Tal Abyad, where some 13,000 civilians have crossed over the past ten days.

The men, women and children were stopped at gunpoint almost within touching distance of the border town of Akcakale.

However, today - backed by allied rebels and air strikes by a U.S.-led coalition - Kurdish forces pressed forward with their offensive on Tal Abyad and advanced to within three miles of the border town.

Syrian refugees waiting at the border cheered in delight as they heard that Kurdish militia were making headway towards the ISIS stronghold before attempting to battle through the barbed wire which separates Syria from Turkey.

It came after the Kurdish forces seized at least 20 villages southwest of the border town, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Rami Abdel Rahman, Observatory director, said: 'They [Kurdish forces] are on the eastern outskirts of Tal Abyad, but the southwestern front is much more difficult because it's more populated.'

Arin Shekhmos, a Kurdish activist who visits the front line daily, said the area's mixed population of Kurds and Arabs was seeking refuge wherever it could.

He said: 'Tal Abyad is almost completely surrounded.'

Photos showed thousands of would-be refugees queuing behind the barbed wire seeking asylum. They later could be seen breaking their way through the metal fence, with many crying in desperation as they tried to cross over into Turkey.

Women clutching their children could be seen climbing through the fence after the refugees charged and found a gap in which they could slip through.

Earlier today, a Kurdish activist in the symbolic battleground town of Kobane, which was liberated from ISIS by the Kurds earlier this year, said authorities had set up a camp for the displaced.

'We are waiting for the whole border area to be liberated - from northeastern Syria all the way to Kobane,' Mustafa Ebdi told AFP.

The Turkish health ministry confirmed that 13,000 people have crossed the border, which is the only crossing point in the area, since the beginning of the month.

A statement by the main Syrian Kurdish fighting force, known as the YPG, said its fighters have encircled the ISIS-held town of Suluk, a few miles southwest of the strategically important town of Tal Abyad.

It said ISIS militants have 'lost control' over Suluk and Kurdish forces were advancing toward Tal Abyad. It also said the road linking Tal Abyad with Raqqa was under YPG control.

(dailymail.co.uk)