Powerful Images Show Syrians Fleeing Border Fighting Into Turkey

Syrians flee the war rush through broken down border fences to enter Turkish territory illegally, near the crossing at Akçakale in Sanliurfa province, on June 14, 2015.

Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images

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A group of Syrians, cross Turkish - Syrian border to take shelter in Turkey at Akçakale in Sanliurfa province on June 14, 2015.

Veli Gurgah—Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

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A Syrian child fleeing the war is lifted over border fence to illegally enter Turkish territory, near the Turkish border crossing at Akçakale, in Sanliurfa province, on June 14, 2015.

Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images

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Syrians fleeing the war pass through broken border fences to illegally enter Turkish territory, near the Turkish border crossing at Akçakale, in Sanliurfa province, on June 14, 2015.

Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images

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A Syrian refugee helps a child after crossing into Turkey from Syria in Akçakale, Sanliurfa province, on June 14, 2015.

Lefteris Pitarakis—AP

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Syrians fleeing the war walk toward the border gates at the Akçakale crossing, in Sanliurfa province, on June 15, 2015.

Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images

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Syrians fleeing the war wait to enter Turkey near the Turkish border crossing at Akçakale, in Sanliurfa province, on June 15, 2015.

Bulent Kilic—AFP/Getty Images

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June 15, 2015 10:25 PM EDT

Intense fighting near a key Syrian border town on Sunday sent thousands of people streaming into Turkey. The masses surged out after a hole was cut into a fence separating Syria from its neighbor, which has taken in more than 1.8 million refugees in the four-plus years of civil war, the Associated Press reports.

The influx was a result of increased fighting around Tal Abyad between Kurdish fighters and the militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria. An activist group said the Kurds gained control of a number of nearby villages from ISIS on Sunday.

A state-run news agency later reported that Turkey opened its border to accommodate for more refugees to cross, but that ISIS militants barred them from leaving.