More than 1,500 refugees flee Syria in one day

Beirut: Turkey's Foreign Ministry says more than 1,500 Syrian refugees have crossed the border to safe havens in Turkey in one day.

The refugees crossed over on Thursday as Syrian troops pushed to the border in their sweep against a 3-month-old pro-democracy movement.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday that more than 11,700 Syrians are housed or seeking shelter in Turkish refugee camps.

The Syrian opposition says 1,400 people have been killed in a relentless government crackdown on protests. More demonstrations were planned for Friday after noon prayers.

The European Union announced on Thursday it was slapping new sanctions on the Syrian regime and US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Damascus to pull its troops back from the Turkish border.