Another Syrian brigadier general has fled to Turkey to join opposition fighters, accompanied by five high-ranking officers and more than 30 troops, Anatolia reported Monday.

Some 400 Syrian civilians, most of them women and children, also arrived in the company of the soldiers, the agency added.

The latest defection brings the total number of Syrian generals who have left Syria through the Turkish border to 31 since the uprising erupted in mid-March last year.

But some of these generals have gone back to Syria to join the active fighters inside the conflict-torn country, a Turkish official told AFP, refusing to give an exact number of Syrian generals currently on Turkish soil.

Senior Syrian officers have been crossing into Turkey to link up with the Free Syrian Army on a near-daily basis in recent months, often accompanied by rank-and-file troops.

With the latest arrivals, Turkey has so far welcomed some 46,500 refugees fleeing from the violence in Syria , who are sheltering in several camps along the border.

The Syrian military defectors are staying in a separate camp where security is tighter.

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