IN THE largest exodus of refugees for months, as many as 20,000
Syrians have fled their war-torn country in just 24 hours, as
the humanitarian crisis caused by the 20-month-long conflict
worsened.  The United Nations refugee agency reported the surge
of refugees, which means that there are now more than 408,000
Syrian refugees living in neighbouring countries.  Syrian
government troops and rebel fighters are engaged in fierce
fighting near the Turkish border, prompting more civilians to
flee into Turkey, activists say. Heavy shelling and air raids
have been reported in Maaret al-Numan and other rebel-held
areas.  ''Some 20,000 have fled areas near the Syrian-Turkish
border in the past 24 hours,'' said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head
of the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.  With the
bitterly cold winter months approaching, concern is mounting for
the health and safety of the refugees fleeing Syria, with many
surviving in abandoned schools, shopfronts, crowded into private
homes or in burgeoning UN-r