"People here have a lot of relatives on the other side, and they are coming up to the border and the Turkish military takes them and brings them into Turkey," Saitavci said. "We were told we can have our relatives be our guests for a few days."

Of the thousands of refugees, 71 were injured, the Turkish Foreign Ministry official said. Two died of their wounds. Most of the Syrians were sent to a Turkish camp in the town of Akcakale.

The Turkish Anadolu news agency reported Friday that 26 Syrian military officers and 71 of their relatives had fled to the Turkish province of Hatay. But Turkey's Foreign Ministry denied the report.

Before the new arrivals, the Turkish government had said it was hosting more than 111,000 Syrian refugees.

As violence continued in border towns, battles between the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and opposition fighters raged elsewhere.

The Syrian conflict has left more than 35,000 people dead and widespread displacement.

The United States announced more than $34 million in humanitarian assistance for Syrians on Friday, bringing the amount of humanitarian aid it has allocated to more than $165 million.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Kelly T. Clements made the announcement Friday at the Syrian Humanitarian Forum in Geneva, Switzerland.

The money will be used for several purposes, including the purchase of blankets, heating of stoves and other goods for refugees in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon during the winter months. The aid also will target health care, including an immunization campaign for up to 1 million children in Syria to protect them from measles and other diseases.

It will also be used to help wounded Syrians at the Lebanon-Syrian border get medical care.