Heavy fighting in Syria ......

Syrian state media have reported "heavy" fighting in the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour after security forces launched a full-scale assault.

The government says it is trying to restore order after 120 security personnel were killed last week.

The government advance has sent hundreds more people fleeing towards the Turkish border, to join thousands who have already crossed.

BBC correspondents on the border say the number of those who have crossed is probably higher than the official figure of 5,050 given on Sunday afternoon by the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR.

US officials say the crackdown has created a humanitarian crisis, and called for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to be given access.

The official version is improbable. Most people had left Jisr al-Shughour after seeing the regime's scorched earth policy”

Western diplomat in Damascusb "No-one is aware of the real magnitude of the problem and this is a big issue, because it does not allow us to know the size of the problem and then to act accordingly," ICRC spokesman Hicham Hassan told the media.