Women and children are among eight Syrian refugees reportedly shot dead by Turkish border guards while trying to reach safety.

Footage obtained by The Times showed survivors of the alleged attack fleeing down a mountain path for treatment to their injuries.

One man was seen carrying his young son, who appeared to be bleeding heavily from gunshot wounds in both legs.

Syrian refugees run away as Turkish soldiers use water cannon to move them away from fences at the Turkish border near the Syrian town of Tal Abyad, at Akcakale in Sanliurfa province, on June 13, 2015 (BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Abdmunem Kashkash, a lawyer from Aleppo who was with the group but escaped injury, said they had been repelled by gunfire several times before attempting the crossing near the Syrian town of Khirbet.

“There was one little girl who was shot and we could not do more for her for four hours, until nightfall,” he told The Times. “An old man and woman are missing - they have probably been killed too.”

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it was investigating Sunday’s reported killings.

“The UNHCR is concerned about such reports but cannot ascertain the authenticity at this stage,” he told The Independent.

“We are seeking further information on such concerning reports and we continually advocate for broader access to safety for civilians fleeing conflict in Syria.

Turkish soldiers stand guard as Kurdish people wait for their relatives who wait near fences on the Syrian border on June 26, 2015 in Suruc, Turkey (AFP/Getty Images)

“We understand the complex security issues at play in managing a very long border in a volatile region, and we encourage authorities to allow civilians in need of international protection to seek safety.”

The agency said it was unable to monitor the full length of Turkey’s 500 mile-long border with Syria, which mostly backs on to conflict zones mostly controlled by Kurdish rebels, Isis and the opposition.

The alleged shooting is the latest in a series of reported attacks on Syrian refugees by border forces in Turkey, which is to receive millions of Euros as part of a deal with the EU aiming to slow boat crossings to Greece.

More than 2.7 million Syrians are already living in Turkish territory, where some of the new funding is being used to improve conditions at squalid and overcrowded refugee camps.

Families who fled the worsening violence in Aleppo last month told The Independent that Turkish police were regularly opening fire.

Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Show all 11 1 /11 Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Turkey's two million Syrian refugees There are already over 2.5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, but their current camps can only hold 200,000 people ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Turkish citizens protest a new deal, also criticised by human rights activists, which will see refugees who arrived in Greece after March 20 be sent back to Turkey AP Photo/Emre Tazegu Turkey's two million Syrian refugees An estimated 80% of Syrian refugee children already in Turkey are unable to attend school BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Refugee children beg for water near the Turkey-Syria border. Turkey has been accused of illegally deporting asylum-seekers back to Syria BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees In Turkey, no-one from outside Europe is legally recognised as a refugee, meaning the 2016 deportations may not meet international legal standards for protecting vulnerable people BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees A refugee child cries as she is searched by police at the Syria-Turkey border, where 16 refugees (including three children) have been shot dead in the last four months BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Many refugees are living rough on the streets of cities such as Istanbul or Ankara (pictured) ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Turkish soldiers use water cannon on Syrian refugees BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Syrian refugees shelter from rain in the streets of Istanbul BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees A derelict building housing Syrian refugees in Istanbul Carl Court/Getty Images Turkey's two million Syrian refugees Turkey houses around half of all the refugees who have currently fled Syria Carl Court/Getty Images

A young woman called Fatima said she saw border guards shoot a young girl. “She didn’t speak Turkish so didn’t understand when they shouted ‘Get away!’” she recalled. “The guards opened fire.”

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that at least 16 people seeking sanctuary in Turkey had been shot dead by the end of March, including three children.

“It’s in all areas. It happens to people coming from Idlib, Aleppo, Isis areas, Kurdish areas,” a spokesperson told The Independent.

Humanitarian organisations and doctors have reported shootings for several months, as well as routine beatings and asylum seekers being rounded up and forced back into Syria.

Amnesty International said up to 100 Syrian men, women and children had been expelled on a “near-daily basis” since January in a violation of Turkish, EU and international law.

Thousands of displaced Syrians flee ISIL attacks

“Turkey is not a safe country for Syrian refugees and is getting less safe by the day,” said John Dalhuisen, its director for Europe and Central Asia.

“Far from pressuring Turkey to improve the protection it offers Syrian refugees, the EU is in fact incentivising the opposite.”

Human Rights Watch called on Turkey to “stop shooting at Syrians” and allow them to reach safety as Isis closed in on border camps housing thousands of refugees earlier this month.

“As civilians flee Isis fighters, Turkey is responding with live ammunition instead of compassion,” said Gerry Simpson, the group’s senior refugee researcher.

Shootings have also been reported at other borders during a crackdown on the flow of refugees across Europe.