Turkish police arrest at least 474 people. Four people are killed in an exchange of gunfire between protesters and the Turkish army in Afrin. The violence was triggered by news of a sexual assault committed by a Syrian refugee against a minor that went viral on social media. The incident reflects growing intolerance towards foreigners.
Istanbul () – Ankara authorities have closed the main border crossing with northwestern Syria, following an attack on army soldiers by Syrian citizens, triggered by violence against compatriots on the other side of the border. A situation of deep tension (and confusion), originated by an incident of unclear contours that took place in the district of Melikgazi: according to some reconstructions, a local child was harassed by a Syrian refugee, which provoked a reaction from the local population and clashes, which also caused several deaths and injuries.
In Turkey, police have arrested at least 474 people involved in attacks against the Syrian community across the country, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, commenting on the riots that broke out on the evening of June 30. The incidents in Kayseri province (Central Anatolia) continued into the morning of the following day, as the governor’s office confirmed the arrest of the person suspected of abusing the minor, who was taken into police custody.
In Kayseri, Syrian property and vehicles were vandalised and set on fire. Meanwhile, violence spread to the provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Konya, Bursa and a district of Istanbul, with some migrants injured. Hundreds of Syrians later took to the streets in several rebel-held towns in the northwest, in an area where Turkey maintains thousands of troops preventing President Bashar al-Assad from regaining control of the entire country. Ankara responded to the unrest by closing the Bab al-Hawa border crossing. The most violent clashes took place in the city of Afrin, where at least four people were killed in an exchange of fire between armed protesters and Turkish troops.
The case of (alleged) sexual violence against the minor – the details of which remain unclear and are being investigated by the police – and the violent reaction of the population have also become the subject of clashes between the government and the opposition. The executive claims a policy of fighting xenophobia and blames the opposition faction for its rhetoric against refugees. On the other hand, opposition forces point the finger at the leaders in Ankara, who are considered guilty of failing to manage the refugee issue. The events sparked counter-protests in northern Syria, where angry demonstrators burned Turkish flags.
Analysts and experts say the incident reflects growing intolerance towards migrants, especially Syrians, in Turkey, which hosts the largest number of refugees in the world, with 3.6 million registered Syrians and some 320,000 of other nationalities. The figure is provided by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), although the exact number of “irregular” migrants is currently unknown. According to official statistics from the Ministry of Interior in Ankara, there are about 83,000 registered Syrian refugees in Kayseri alone as of May 2024, representing, as appropriate, cheap labour or the target of nationalist and religious propaganda. [del gobierno].
A 2021 study by the Tepav research and statistics centre found that almost all employed Syrian refugees work informally. Many companies hire them to avoid rising minimum wage costs; last year, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz acknowledged the need for a “regular flow of migrants” to fill labour shortages. Furthermore, an Ipsos 2024 study for UNHCR on 52 countries shows that Turkey has the highest rate of anti-refugee sentiment among these nations. 77% of respondents are in favour of completely closing borders to refugees (the global average is 40%); finally, 70% believe that refugees arriving in Turkey are not fleeing war but are seeking a more comfortable life, and consensus around a supportive policy is also waning.
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