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And the news came on the same day US Senator Lindsey Graham accused the world of "sitting on its hands" and ignoring the destruction being wrought by Syrian President Bashar Assad, aided and abetted by the Russians – and urged President Donald Trump to step in. The dramatic decision raises the prospect of large numbers arriving in Southern Europe. Turkish police, coast guard and border security officials have been ordered to stand down, the official added. Earlier on Thursday, a local Turkish governor said an attack on Turkish military in Idlib killed nine soldiers, although the figure was later revised upwards to 22.

Turkey will no longer stop Syrian refugees from heading to Europe by land and sea

However, the Syrian Observatory, a war monitor, reported at least 34 Turkish soldiers had been killed. In anticipation of the imminent arrival of refugees from Idlib, Turkish police, coast guard and border security officials have been ordered to stand down on refugees' land and sea crossings, the official confirmed. Turkey hosts some 3.7 million Syrian refugees. Under a deal agreed in 2016, the European Union has provided billions of euros in aid in return for Ankara agreeing to stem the influx of migrants into Europe. Turkey has sent thousands of troops and heavy military hardware into northwest Syria's Idlib province to back rebels looking to hold back an offensive by Syrian government and Russian forces aimed at taking back the rebel stronghold.

Turkey-backed Syrian fighters ride a tank in Idlib

Earlier Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan chaired an emergency security meeting late on Thursday to evaluate the latest developments in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, two Turkish security sources said. Turkey backs rebels in Idlib and its military has helped resist an advance by Russian-backed Syrian government forces in recent weeks. The Turkish military death toll in the region rose earlier on Thursday to 21 so far this month. Meanwhile Russia's Defence Ministry accused Turkey of illegally sending strike drones into Syria's Idlib region to support rebels fighting Syrian government forces, and of providing artillery support for them. The ministry made the allegation after Syrian rebels backed by Turkish forces said they had recaptured the crossroads town of Saraqeb, marking a first big push-back of a Syrian government offensive. READ MORE: Brexit FURY - 'Idiotic civil service' leaving UK at mercy of EU courts

A Syrian boy stands outside a tent at an informal camp in Idlib

Russia claimed a Turkish strike drone had illegally entered Syrian airspace on Tuesday and been destroyed by Syrian government air defences while preparing a strike on government troops. Syrian rebels backed by Turkish forces said on Thursday they had recaptured the crossroads town of Saraqeb, marking a first big push-back of a Syrian government offensive. Mr Erdogan said developments were turning in Ankara's favour, three weeks after the armed rebel opposition lost the northwestern town at the crossroads of two main highways to the Russian-backed Syrian government forces. Eyewitness reports have painted a grim picture of conditions in the region.

A refugee camp in Idlib

The UN Security Council today heard a plea from women caught in the middle, with one saying: "All we are asking, is for the misery to stop, for the killing to stop. We want the right to live." The message was shared by deputy UN aid chief Ursula Mueller, who spoke via videolink to 14 Syrian women in Idlib and northern Aleppo last week. She said: "What is happening in northwest Syria, they said, is beyond imagination. It is not humanly tolerable. "They told me of children so traumatised they no longer speak."

Lindsey Graham has urged Donald Trump to get involved

Mr Graham today called for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Syria's Idlib and called on Mr Trump to help stop the killing of civilians there by Syrian government forces backed by Russia and Iran. He added: "The world is sitting on its hands and watching the destruction of Idlib by Assad, Iran, and the Russians. "I am confident if the world, led by the United States, pushed back against Iran, Russia, and Assad that they would stand down, paving the way for political negotiations to end this war in Syria." Kay Bailey Hutchison, US Ambassador to NATO, responding to the latest incident in a briefing, said she hoped Mr Erdogan would see who Ankara's reliable ally is, alluding to the United States.

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