Hundreds of people were detained by Turkish police during anti-Syrian protests that broke out in multiple cities after a Syrian man was accused of intimidating a child. According to UN estimates, Turkey is home to about 3.2 million Syrian refugees. However, in recent years, there have been multiple incidents of xenophobic violence in Turkey.
Following anti-Syrian riots in multiple cities, which were sparked by allegations that a Syrian man had harassed a child, Turkish authorities announced on Tuesday that they had detained over 470 people.
Following violence in a city in central Anatolia on Sunday, when a mob went on the rampage and damaged Syrian-owned businesses and properties. Tensions grew and 474 people were detained. The hostilities started after a group of men set fire to a grocery store in the town of Kayseri, targeting Syrian properties and businesses. Videos of the incident have gone viral on social media.
A Turkish man could be heard yelling in one of the videos, “We want to stop accepting Syrian refugees! We desire the eradication of foreigners.”
Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc stated that a court had ordered the Syrian man’s arrest late on Monday, stating that “the child and her family are under our state’s protection.” According to officials, the girl was a Syrian girl and she was related to the man who was allegedly harassing her.
On Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the anti-Syrian violence as “unacceptable” and accused the opposition of inflaming tensions.
Authorities have frequently urged calm as the unrest extended to a number of other cities, including Istanbul, late on Monday.
An AFP journalist reports that Turkish police increased security around the Syrian consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday by stationing an armored truck and conducting neighborhood patrols.
According to UN estimates, Turkey is home to about 3.2 million Syrian refugees. In recent years, there have been multiple incidents of xenophobic violence in Turkey, which are frequently the result of rumors that circulate on social media and instant messaging apps.
Following a fight in which an 18-year-old man lost his life, groups of men in the Turkish capital of Ankara attacked houses and businesses owned by Syrians in August 2021.
A major political concern in Turkey is what will happen to the Syrian refugees, as Erdogan’s rivals in the previous election pledged to repatriate them.