“A nightmarish night”: Syrian neighborhood attacked in Ankara after deadly brawl

Published on : 08/13/2021 – 6:25 PMModified : 08/13/2021 – 8:15 PM

Videos widely circulated on Twitter recount the events of the evening of August 11 in Altındağ, a district east of the Turkish capital, Ankara. A hundred young Turkish men, perched on vans, invaded the districts of Altındağ and Hüseyingazi, called “Little Aleppo”, which hosts around 10,000 Syrians. Singing xenophobic cries, they beat up Syrian residents of the neighborhood and ransacked several stores belonging to Syrians.

At least six Syrians were injured according to witnesses on the spot. Seventy-six suspects among the attackers were arrested on the morning of August 12, according to the police. Thirty-eight of these same suspects are known to the police for assault and battery, and drug trafficking.

_{In this video filmed by a resident, the crowd batons, shouting religiously, the front of a store.}

_{A mob attempts to destroy a storefront believed to be Syrian-owned in the Hüseyingazi neighborhood of eastern Ankara on the evening of August 11. “Look, not even the police intervene,” comments one person off camera.}

At the origin of the attack, a fight broke out around 9:30 p.m. in a public park between two groups of teenagers from Hüseyingazi, Turkish, and Syrian, during which two Turks aged 16 and 18 were stabbed. The 18 year old died the same evening in the hospital. Two suspects of Syrian origin were arrested according to local press.

_{Turkish netizens share the photo of the deceased 18-year-old victim.}

Despite the deployment of anti-riot forces from Ankara, police attempts to bring calm have been unsuccessful. Syrian residents had to barricade themselves or flee their homes at night for fear of reprisals.

Turkish Red Crescent President Kerem Kinik claimed on Twitter thata Syrian child was hospitalized after suffering a head injury by a stone thrown at his family’s house.

_{In this video from Turkish independent media Artı Gerçek, we see a Syrian family barricaded in their home. “There is a pregnant woman here. What are we going to do? ”One of the men asks the reporter through the window.}

“The neighborhood stayed on alert all night”

Yusuf Molla, a Syrian activist living in Altındağ, recounts the events of the night of August 11 on his Facebook page.

He tells :

The residents of the neighborhood parked as many vehicles belonging to Syrians as possible to protect them from the attackers. But a few cars remained in the neighborhood. Since the neighborhood was barricaded, we thought that would be enough to contain the assault. But what happened is beyond imagination: ransacking of houses, looting of shops, crowds of people marching in the streets, shouting insults …

They turned cars over, tore windows down. I was with my neighbor on the street when his new car was smashed up around 5 a.m., before the police arrived.

_{This video, shot by a resident of the Hüseyingazi neighborhood, shows the crowd turning around and smashing a car believed to belong to Syrian refugees. The attackers identify vehicles belonging to Syrians by license plates with the words “MA” (visitor).}

My mother lives in this same neighborhood. My brothers and I stayed at her house until dawn to protect her. The neighborhood remained on alert all night. The Syrians have had a nightmarish evening. They moved in groups: they came out through fifteen from one alley, through ten from another. The reaction [des Turcs] was so disproportionate! There are a lot of images on social networks or thanks to surveillance cameras that support our complaint to the police. We will not be silent on our rights.

_{Other footage indicates the assault spread to the surrounding neighborhood from Önder according to journalist Alican Uludag.}

“The Syrians are the first victims of this hate speech in Turkey”

This violence is the direct result of a reigning xenophobia for several years in Turkey, assures the lawyer and Syrian activist Ghazwan Kronfol of the NGO. Free Syrian Lawyers.

This kind of xenophobic reaction is due to a general tension caused by a denigrating campaign propagated for two years by members of the Turkish opposition, in particular the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Although several refugee communities live in Turkey, it mainly targets the Syrian community, perhaps because it is the largest [plus de 3 millions de Syriens sont réfugiés en Turquie, sur un total de plus de 5 millions de réfugiés syriens dans le monde, NDLR]. This campaign, without any subtlety, aims to train opposition supporters to push for premature parliamentary elections, normally scheduled for 2023.

_{In the Hüseyingazi district, merchandise from looted stores, burned in the street.}

It is natural that a feeling of hatred spills over when Syrians commit crimes or if Turks do not understand the legal position of refugees. The Turkish government should communicate more effectively on aid to Syrians: for example, a small proportion of Syrians live in camps in Turkey [96% des Syriens enregistrés au régime “protection temporaire” (TP) auprès des autorités turques vivent maintenant en milieu urbain, NDLR], so the vast majority have been running businesses and paying taxes for years. Turkey also received a European envelope of 6 billion euros for refugees, especially Syrians, but many Turkish citizens believe that it is Turkish state money dedicated to them.

_{Against a background of whistling, the crowd sings “Syrians, son of a bitch, dead to the Syrians” in front of looted merchandise.}

Even if the government compensates the victims of Altındağ, the Syrians remain in danger: how can they create harmony in a host country which is already hostile to them? If legal action is not taken against the attackers, these waves of assaults will continue to occur.

The xenophobic assault on Altindağ mirrors the violence against Syrian refugees in Istanbul in June 2019, resulting in the destruction of Syrian shops and the assault of civilians.

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