Guvecci, Turkey ? Syrian troops pushed to the Turkish border Thursday in their sweep against a 3-month-old pro-democracy movement, sending panicked refugees, including children, rushing across the frontier to safe havens in Turkey.

The European Union, meanwhile, announced it was slapping new sanctions on the Syrian regime because of the “gravity of the situation,” in which the Syrian opposition says 1,400 people have been killed in a relentless government crackdown. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Syria to pull its troops back from the border.

Syrian soldiers patrolled in military vehicles and on foot around the border village of Khirbet al-Jouz, according to Associated Press journalists who watched their movements from the Turkish side. The Local Coordinating Committees, which track the Syrian protest movement, said residents reported tanks had entered the village and snipers were spotted on rooftops.

Syria has banned foreign journalists and restricted local media, making it nearly impossible to independently confirm the accounts.

More than 11,000 Syrians are housed or seeking shelter in Turkish refugee camps, including 600 who crossed over on Thursday, the Turkish Red Crescent said. The refugees came in a convoy of about 20 minibuses and some rushed on foot across the border, to be met by Turkish soldiers and escorted to nearby camps.

Some refugees glanced behind them as they crossed into Turkey, as though fearful of being chased. Later, another convoy of nine minibuses was seen ferrying refugees to the Turkish camps.