At least eight people were killed by Turkish forces while trying to flee toward Turkey near Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, a monitor group reported Sunday.

Four children under 18 and two women were among those killed when they were fired at in the town of Khirbet al-Jous in Idlib countryside by the Turkish forces, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Observatory said the slain people were civilians fleeing the war in Syria.

The UK-based watchdog group said the recent deaths were documented in the last 24 hours, bringing the overall number of people killed by Turkish police while attempting to reach a sanctuary in Turkey to 60 since January this year.

The monitor group, which says it relies on a network of activists on ground, urged the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to practice pressure on the Turkish government to open safe passages for the Syrian refugees "so that they don't become a prey for the human traffickers."

According to UN estimates, Turkey's Syrian refugee population was more than 1.7 million as of mid-March 2015, and the large unregistered refugee population may mean the true figure is even larger.

Turkey was the main conduit for the Syrian refugees who were fleeing to Europe, and apparently the Turkish authorities have started imposing strict policy toward the Syrian refugees due to the refugee crisis in Europe.

source : xinhua