People in opposition-held areas in Aleppo condemn Turkish racist acts
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – People of the towns and cities under the Turkish occupation and the control of the armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), of Aleppo Governorate in northwestern Syria, took on Monday to the streets to condemn acts of discrimination against Syrian refugees in Turkey.
The people of the towns and cities of al-Bab, al-Rai, Azaz, and Afrin in Aleppo northern and eastern countryside took to the streets, blocked the roads, invaded Turkish institutions and fired Turkish officials.
The protesters smashed the trucks and vehicles that held Turkish car number plates and brought down the Turkish flags from all buildings and headquarters.
This came after a group of Turks set fire to houses and property of the Syrian refugees in the city of Kayseri in central Turkey on Sunday evening following allegations that a Syrian man sexually harassed a child girl.
Due to the events, Turkish Police detained 67 individuals who attacked Syrian refugees’ property, Turkish Minister of Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, said.
There are more than three million Syrian refugees in Turkey who frequently face bouts of xenophobic violence and racist attacks.
In a footage when the group of the Turks targeted Syrians’ property in Kayseri, a Turkish man was heard shouting: “We don’t want any more Syrians! We don’t want any more foreigners.”
Social media platform X was awash with extremist users calling for the expulsion of Syrian refugees in Turkey.
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, exploited the incidents and blamed opposition parties saying, “setting streets and people’s houses on fire is unacceptable.”
Opposition parties like the secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP), nationalist Good Party (IP) and far-right ultra-nationalist Victory Party (ZP) have extensively campaigned around sending Syrians back home ahead of last year’s national elections, blaming Syrians for the economic crisis, housing and rent issues.