Turkish communities have been unsettled in recent hours following incidents of rioting that showed Turks attacking the properties of Syrian refugees in the country. Groups of men violently targeted shops and properties owned by Syrians in Kayseri, central Turkey, on Sunday evening, after a Syrian man was arrested on suspicion of molesting a Turkish minor. Video clips that circulated on social media showed men smashing the windows of a grocery store reportedly run by Syrian traders before setting it on fire, according to Turkish media.
Additionally, other young men resorted to using stones and metal tools to damage motorcycles and vehicles in the same area of southern Kayseri, known for hosting many refugees who fled the war in Syria, while chanting: "We don’t want more Syrians! We don’t want more foreigners!" However, those claims have been completely refuted, as authorities in Kayseri confirmed that the child is Syrian, not Turkish, and that the young man is her cousin who suffers from mental health issues. Authorities also announced the arrest of the suspect and the protection of the child by relevant entities.
Furthermore, police forces were deployed in the city on Sunday evening in an attempt to calm the situation. It is noteworthy that Turkey, which hosts around 3.2 million Syrian refugees, has repeatedly witnessed rising waves of xenophobia in recent years, often fueled by rumors that spread on social media, most of which are false.
