Thousands of Syrians brave cold, rain at Turkey border

Thousands of Syrians were braving cold and rain at the Turkish border yesterday after fleeing a Russian-backed regime assault on Aleppo in northern Syria that threatens a fresh humanitarian disaster.

Syria's government, for its part, warned it would combat any uninvited foreign ground intervention, following reports that Riyadh and Ankara which support rebel forces could send in troops.

The statement came after the head of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard yesterday said Saudi Arabia lacked the courage to go through with a plan to send ground troops to Syria, and warned they would be wiped out if they went in.

Mohammad Ali Jafari's blunt words on the Fars news agency were Iran's first official reaction to a statement from its regional rival Saudi Arabia this week that it was ready to join ground operations in Syria if a US-led military alliance decided to start them.

Tens of thousands have escaped fierce fighting as government forces unleashed an advance this week against rebels, severing the opposition's main supply route into the northern metropolis of Aleppo.

On Saturday morning, Turkey's Oncupinar border crossing -- which faces Bab al-Salama on Syrian soil -- remained closed, an AFP correspondent said, as Turkish authorities said they were working to free up space within existing camps to accommodate the latest influx.

Around 40,000 civilians have fled their homes to escape the regime offensive, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu reaffirmed on Saturday that his country would keep its "open border policy" for Syrian refugees. EU officials earlier reminded Turkey of its international obligations to keep its frontiers open to refugees.

Turkey is already home to between two and 2.5 million Syrians who have fled their country's brutal five-year conflict.

Russia has accused Turkey of "preparations for an armed invasion" of Syria, a claim that Ankara has dismissed.

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem issued a stiff warning against any such intervention.

"Any ground intervention on Syrian territory without government authorisation would amount to an aggression that must be resisted," he said at a news conference in Damascus.

"Let no one think they can attack Syria or violate its sovereignty because I assure you any aggressor will return to their country in a wooden coffin, whether they be Saudis or Turks," he warned.

Western nations have accused the Syrian government of sabotaging UN-backed peace talks that collapsed this week with its military offensive, and Washington has demanded Moscow halt its air war.

Top diplomats from countries trying to resolve the conflict are set to meet again next week after UN envoy Staffan de Mistura suspended the floundering Geneva negotiations until February 25.

More than 260,000 people have died in Syria's conflict and more than half the population has been displaced.