Ankara: Turkey cannot handle a fresh wave of migrants from Syria, President Tayyip Erdogan said, warning impact of such an influx will be felt in Europe if violence in Syria's north-west is not stopped.

Turkey currently hosts some 3.7 million Syrian refugees, the largest refugee population in the world, and fears another wave from the Idlib region, where up to 3 million Syrians live in the last significant rebel-held swathe of territory.

A family with their goods loaded on a truck drives fleeing Idlib province. The UN says that some 60,000 Idlib residents have been displaced in recent weeks by a Russia-backed government offensive. Credit:AP

Syrian and Russian forces have intensified their bombardment of targets in Idlib, which Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to recapture, prompting a wave of refugees towards Turkey.

Speaking at an awards ceremony in Istanbul on Sunday night, local time, Erdogan said more than 80,000 people were currently on the move from Idlib to Turkey.