The clashes followed the arrest of a Syrian man suspected of harassing a child in his entourage. Turkish authorities have arrested 474 people after anti-Syrian riots in several cities, the interior minister announced on Tuesday. “Four hundred and seventy-four people were arrested after acts of provocation” carried out against Syrians in Turkey, the minister, Ali Yerlikaya, announced on the social network X.
Tensions have been rising in Turkey against the Syrian community since the arrest of a Syrian man suspected of harassing a child. Groups of men targeted Syrian-owned businesses and properties in Kayseri, central Turkey, on Sunday night.
Call for restraint
Several videos published on social networks and authenticated by Agence France-Presse showed men smashing the window of a grocery store supposedly run by Syrian traders, before setting it on fire. “We don’t want any more Syrians! We don’t want any more foreigners!”a man shouts in one of the videos.
The Kayseri governorate called on residents to exercise restraint, specifying in a statement that the child victim of harassment, aged five, also had Syrian nationality.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday condemned the latest wave of violence against Turkey’s large Syrian refugee community. “No matter who they are, it is unacceptable to set fire to streets and people’s homes”he said while warning that hate speech should not be used for political purposes.
But the violence spread to other cities across the country on Monday night, including Istanbul. Police increased security around the Syrian consulate in Istanbul, an AFP journalist said.
Turkey, which hosts some 3.2 million Syrian refugees out of a population of 85 million, has been rocked by bouts of xenophobia several times in recent years, often triggered by rumours spreading on social media and instant messaging apps.
