Nine-year-old Syrian refugee girl shot dead by Turkish border police

Hasna Muhsin Sawan had been attempting to cross over from Syria to Turkey "illegally" with her three children, Zaman al-Wasl reported.

"The Turkish jandarma climbed the border wall separating Turkey from Syria and opened fire on the family in cold blood," alleged one of Sawan's relatives, Bilal.

The jandarma are a military law enforcement agency tasked with policing rural areas of Turkey, including some border regions.

He added that the family had been inside Syrian territory and had not yet reached the border.

Hala, nine years old, was killed, while her sister Bayan is currently in hospital suffering from severe injuries.

Sawan and her children were unable to access medical assistance for at least three hours, Bilal claimed.

Sawan may have been attempting to cross the border with four children, all of whom suffered severe injuries, reported Syrian journalist Zouhir al-Shimale on Saturday.

The children are currently receiving medical treatment at a hospital in Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border, Shimale said.

Such incidents have not been uncommon over the course of the conflict in Syria.

At least 422 Syrian civilians, including 76 children, have been killed by the Turkish jandarma since 2011, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Human Rights Watch has termed the border police's treatment of Syrian civilians as "indiscriminate shooting" designed to deter Syrians from crossing the border.

The human rights organisation has also documented claims that the border police has denied medical treatment to those in need.

Over the past few years, hundreds of thousands of refugees have been forced to shelter in the northern province of Idlib as Bashar al-Assad's regime took over previously rebel-held, besieged areas, such as East Aleppo and Eastern Ghouta.

Aerial bombardment of Idlib by the regime and its ally Russia has increased over the past few months as IDPs struggle to access basic supplies and medical care.