Over 1,500 Syrian refugees crossed to Turkey in one day

More than 1,500 Syrian refugees crossed to Turkey on Thursday, according to state-run Anatolian news agency, as the Syrian army swept up to the border in its campaign to stamp out anti-government protests.

The provincial government in Hatay said on Friday morning that the total number of refugees registered at the temporary shelter camps had reached 11,739, compared with 10,224 a day earlier. Most of Thursday's influx came from people who had set up makeshift camps just inside Syrian territory, who fled once the army appeared, according to Reuters.

Activists on the Syrian Revolution 2011 Facebook page - which has become an important force behind the protest movement - called Thursday for a nationwide general strike and urged fresh protests Friday.

The Syrian opposition estimates that 1,400 people have been killed since the protests began three months ago and that about 10,000 have been detained, says Los Angeles Times.