Turkey border guards ‘shot Syrian children’ — monitors

Turkish border guards have shot dead at least eight Syrians, including four children, who were trying to cross into Turkey, activists say.

A further eight people were injured, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group.

The shooting took place at a border crossing north of the Syrian town of Jisr al-Shugour, which is controlled by jihadist groups.
Turkey has repeatedly denied its guards shoot at Syrians crossing the border.

More than 2.5 million Syrians who fled the war have taken refuge in Turkey. Turkey has now closed its borders to Syrians.

The Associated Press news agency quoted a senior Turkish official as saying: "We are unable to independently verify the claims" regarding the shooting, but said authorities were investigating.
As well as four children, three women and a man were also killed, the Observatory said.

Other Syrian opposition groups put the death toll at 11.
Since the beginning of 2016, nearly 60 civilians have been shot while trying to flee across the border from Syria into Turkey, the Observatory says.