by Our Foreign Desk

KURDISH militia advanced yesterday to within striking distance of an Islamic State-held Syrian town on the Turkish border.

People’s Protection Units (YPG) official Idriss Naasan said that Islamic State (Isis) fighters had fled the small settlement of Suluk, a few miles south-west of Tal Abyad, and that the militia now held the village.

“It’s only a matter of time before this area is liberated,” he said.

The YPG offensive was supported by US air strikes, but it was unclear how decisive they had been.

Tal Abyad, some 50 miles north of the Isis stronghold of Raqqa, is said to be the Islamists’ main route into Syria for supplies and foreign recruits.

A YPG victory there would threaten Raqqa, possibly reversing recent territorial gains achieved by Isis.

Hundreds of refugees from the fighting tried to cross into Turkey, pressing against barbed-wire fences at the border while masked militants and Turkish troops looked on.

Some 13,000 refugees have already entered Turkey in the last 10 days, according to the country’s Foreign Ministry.

• UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has accepted an invitation from the government to travel to Damascus for talks with officials.

Mr de Mistura’s office said yesterday that he wanted to give the Syrian government the opportunity to express its views about the ongoing negotiations between different factions in the conflict. The talks began in early May and will continue into July.

He also plans to discuss ways to increase access for humanitarian aid to Syria.