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He arrived at the border on Thursday from the nearby village of Shughur al-Kadima with his six children, wife and sister's family after a dawn army crackdown.
"The army shot randomly with tanks and light weaponry. We walked through mountains and valleys and arrived here," he told AFP from across the border as his children gathered around him.
Abu Ahmed held his ailing son in his arms, smoking with one hand and holding the child's empty nursing bottle in the other.
"They broke into the houses and destroyed everything. How can we go back? Go back, for them to kill us?" he said, adding that he could cross into Turkey after waiting for a few days.
Like thousands of refugees hesitating to cross into Turkey at the border zone, Abu Ahmed and his family have fashioned a makeshift shelter with a nylon sheet stretched over four branches.
"We left our home and came to this beautiful palace that we built to protect us from rain and sun," he said bitterly.
Abu Ahmed and his family are among dozens of villagers from Shughur al-Kadima who arrived at the Turkish-Syrian border early Thursday.
The Syrian army attacked two villages, Shughur al-Kadima and Janudiyeh, a few kilometres from the Turkish border, a Syrian activist helping the displaced people on the other side of the border told AFP by phone.
Locals of Turkey's Guvecci village said they woke up at 6:00 am (0300 GMT) to sounds of gunshots from across the border.
A young woman who fled her home said: "The army came in from all sides. They started to shoot in the middle of the village. People were wounded but we don't know what happened to them.
"I came with my family in two vehicles. We are about 30 people," the mother of four said. "We are afraid for our lives."
Some of the villagers said they were already on alert before the attacks and had left their houses for safer areas but returned after the Syrian information minister said on state television they could return home.
"The minister ... called us back home. We returned because we thought it was safe. We slept and at six in the morning, the bullets started to rain on us," said Abu Muhammed, a 37-year-old.
Abu Nuuar, a driver from Shughur al-Kadima, said: "The army targeted women and animals and everyone... They broke into houses and shops, grabbed food and placed weapons and then said 'these are terrorists.' I'm 45 years old and I have never had a gun in my life."
Halid, a neighbour of Abu Ahmed, fled to the border six days ago, fearing an attack.
"Our crime was to take part in protests. All around the world people can demonstrate but not us. It has been forbidden for 40 years. We protested and now that's the price we have to pay," said the father of two.
Violence in Syria has claimed the lives of 1,297 civilians and 340 security force members since anti-regime demonstrations erupted in March, according to rights activists.
By Wednesday, some 8,421 Syrians had fled to Turkey following heavy clashes between regime forces and pro-democracy demonstrators.
In addition to the more than 1,200 people who have died, some 10,000 have been detained in Syria since the eruption of the protests inspired by the uprisings that toppled long-standing rulers in Egypt and Tunisia.
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"The army shot randomly with tanks and light weaponry. We walked through mountains and valleys and arrived here," he told AFP from across the border as his children gathered around him.
Abu Ahmed held his ailing son in his arms, smoking with one hand and holding the child's empty nursing bottle in the other.
"They broke into the houses and destroyed everything. How can we go back? Go back, for them to kill us?" he said, adding that he could cross into Turkey after waiting for a few days.
Like thousands of refugees hesitating to cross into Turkey at the border zone, Abu Ahmed and his family have fashioned a makeshift shelter with a nylon sheet stretched over four branches.
"We left our home and came to this beautiful palace that we built to protect us from rain and sun," he said bitterly.
Abu Ahmed and his family are among dozens of villagers from Shughur al-Kadima who arrived at the Turkish-Syrian border early Thursday.
The Syrian army attacked two villages, Shughur al-Kadima and Janudiyeh, a few kilometres from the Turkish border, a Syrian activist helping the displaced people on the other side of the border told AFP by phone.
Locals of Turkey's Guvecci village said they woke up at 6:00 am (0300 GMT) to sounds of gunshots from across the border.
A young woman who fled her home said: "The army came in from all sides. They started to shoot in the middle of the village. People were wounded but we don't know what happened to them.
"I came with my family in two vehicles. We are about 30 people," the mother of four said. "We are afraid for our lives."
Some of the villagers said they were already on alert before the attacks and had left their houses for safer areas but returned after the Syrian information minister said on state television they could return home.
"The minister ... called us back home. We returned because we thought it was safe. We slept and at six in the morning, the bullets started to rain on us," said Abu Muhammed, a 37-year-old.
Abu Nuuar, a driver from Shughur al-Kadima, said: "The army targeted women and animals and everyone... They broke into houses and shops, grabbed food and placed weapons and then said 'these are terrorists.' I'm 45 years old and I have never had a gun in my life."
Halid, a neighbour of Abu Ahmed, fled to the border six days ago, fearing an attack.
"Our crime was to take part in protests. All around the world people can demonstrate but not us. It has been forbidden for 40 years. We protested and now that's the price we have to pay," said the father of two.
Violence in Syria has claimed the lives of 1,297 civilians and 340 security force members since anti-regime demonstrations erupted in March, according to rights activists.
By Wednesday, some 8,421 Syrians had fled to Turkey following heavy clashes between regime forces and pro-democracy demonstrators.
In addition to the more than 1,200 people who have died, some 10,000 have been detained in Syria since the eruption of the protests inspired by the uprisings that toppled long-standing rulers in Egypt and Tunisia.
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