Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said on Friday that the number of Syrians it is providing refuge is nearing the mammoth figure of 100,000.
A total of 96,397 refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict are currently taking shelter in 13 tent cities across Turkey, AFAD said in a statement.
The refugees are repatriated in five tent cities in the southern province of Hatay, two in Sanliurfa, three in Gaziantep and one each in Osmaniye, Kahramanmaras and Adiyaman, as well as one container city in Kilis.
AFAD estimates that 137,153 Syrian Citizens have so far crossed the border since they began fleeing the bloody crackdown on anti-Assad regime rebellion in April 2011, out of which, 40,756 have returned to their homeland.
Despite Ankara's humanitarian gesture, Damascus alleges that Syrian Army deserters are using Turkey as a base for launching attacks on Syrian military installations.
Although Turkey and Syria shared close ties until recently, their relations began deteriorating over Ankara's strong criticism of Damascus as it continued crackdown on protesters. It worsened in June, when Syrian military shot down Turkey's F-4 Phantom fighter-jet over the Mediterranean near its border.
It reached a new low on Wednesday with the fatal shelling by Syrian forces of the Turkish border town of Akçakale, which killed two women and three children.
The Turkish Parliament has authorized the country's military to carry out cross border operations in the wake of the incursion, and hours before it the Turkish military started firing at targets inside Syria. Several Syrian troops were reportedly killed by Turkish fire.
The size of the refugee populations in the neighboring countries as well as the number of internally displaced people inside Syria are rising alarmingly. It is estimated that the number of internally displaced people surpasses one million, while the number of Syrians outside the country as refugees is now around 350,000. That number was only 50,000 to 60,000 six months ago.
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