The Syrian conflict is getting increasingly difficult to pick apart from the outside, but one thing's for certain — as the war rages on, so does the outpour of refugees into neighboring countries. But what happens when that's no longer possible?
Earlier this year, we saw the answer to that question play out during the Kurds' battle to shake Syria's Tal Abyad from the hands of Daesh (ISIS), when photos emerged of refugees being power-hosed away from winding barbed wire barracades along the Turkish border.
But last week Turkey opened the Bab al-Salam border crossing to Aleppo, after months of closure amid security concerns. Then this week, this video popped up on social media, purporting to show what happened when refugees waiting just inside Syria caught wind of the news.
Last Friday #Turkey opened the Bab al-Salam border crossing. This is what happened when #Syria|ns heard about it. pic.twitter.com/m0Cdm3s3K0
— Sakir Khader (@sakirkhader) July 21, 2015
Since fighting broke out there in 2011, Syria has seen the exodus of some 3 million people, almost 2 million of which have fled to Turkey. Over four years later, dozens of tent settlements dot the border area, as illustrated by the Middle East Eye's infographic below.
INFOGRAPHIC: Turkey: Numbers and camps of Syrian refugees http://t.co/tJ6cTQXWbA #Turkey pic.twitter.com/41thHeEYQF
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) July 21, 2015
And in a war that's getting nowhere but more complex, that number's only getting bigger.
