Riots break out after alleged harassment of child in central Türkiye

Dozens of foreign-owned shops and homes in Türkiye’s central Kayseri province were wrecked earlier on Monday over allegations that a Syrian national had abused a 7-year-old Syrian child.

The riots broke out late on Sunday night after 26-year-old I.A., identified only by his initials, was caught sexually abusing M.A., the 7-year-old daughter of his uncle, in a public restroom in Kayseri’s Melikgazi district.

An angry mob took to the streets in several neighborhoods of Melikgazi, looking to catch the suspected abuser, but they damaged the workplaces and stoned the homes and vehicles of foreigners instead, with videos on social media showing a grocery store being set on fire.

Police intervened with tear gas and 14 officers and a firefighter were injured as they struggled to disperse the crowd, but the streets were calm and deserted by the morning.

Kayseri Governor Gökmen Çiçek called for calm from the balcony of an apartment overlooking the street.

“I understand your anger and know this is a very vile incident. As your governor, I promise that such vileness will not be repeated,” Çiçek told the crowd. “I beg of you; no one here should get hurt.”

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the Syrian national was caught by Turkish citizens and delivered to the police.

He said on X Turks who gathered in the area acted “illegally” and in a manner “that does not suit our human values”, damaging houses, shops and cars belonging to Syrians.

Sixty-seven people were detained after the attacks, he said.

“Türkiye is a state of law and order. Our security forces continue their fight against all crimes and criminals today, as they did yesterday.”

In one of the videos, a Turkish man was heard shouting: “We don’t want any more Syrians! We don’t want any more foreigners.”

According to the Anadolu Agency (AA), the victim’s relatives were transferred to the provincial deportation center.

Kayseri Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said investigations were underway into the incident and social media users who had been sharing provocative posts throughout the incident.

The Family and Social Services Ministry confirmed the child, the child’s mother and siblings were placed under state protection and began receiving psychological support.

A Kayseri court also imposed restrictions on the investigation and ordered a broadcast ban on the case “to protect the victim and her family and curb increasing social incidents following the incident.”

Turkish opposition’s nationalist Good Party (IP) Chair Müsavat Dervişoğlu, however, appeared supportive of the violence, saying in a post on X that “This issue now exceeding a silent and banned occupation is about to become a destruction altogether.”

Calling refugees “an existential, national security threat” and claiming the Turkish government was “dragging Türkiye to the brink of a cliff,” the IP leader called for a “joint solution and political willpower to act on this issue.”

Growing far-right anti-refugee sentiments have increased the risk of violence against immigrants in Türkiye in recent years, where many refugees have been subjected to attacks in various towns across the country upon rumors they were involved in cases of rape or murders against the local population.

Türkiye hosts over 4 million refugees – more than any other country in the world – including 3.6 million from Syria who fled the civil war starting in 2012 and were granted temporary protection status. The country has been shaken several times by bouts of xenophobic violence in recent years, often triggered by rumors spreading on social media and instant messaging applications.

In August 2021, groups of men targeted businesses and homes occupied by Syrians in the capital Ankara, after a brawl, which cost the life of an 18-year-old man.

The IP was among other opposition parties like the secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the ultra-nationalist Victory Party (ZP) that fueled anti-refugee sentiments in Türkiye, notably targeting Syrian asylum-seekers and irregular migrants ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections in May last year, even blaming immigrants for the worst economic crisis that has been plaguing the country in recent years.

CHP’s ex-leader and presidential contender Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu extensively campaigned around sending Syrians back home, which stoked concern among many migrants in the country of mass expulsion.

Although Türkiye received significant migration as a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Syrians are mainly blamed for the problems, including housing and rent issues. Pundits argue that anti-Arab sentiment historically has roots among ultra-secular circles.

Türkiye has so far repatriated over 554,000 Syrians to Syria’s northern regions, improved with new infrastructure and housing, where Ankara-backed opposition forces have control, but PKK/YPG terrorists also occupy swathes of territory and threaten the local population.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been advocating for a political solution to the Syrian crisis and the dignified and voluntary return of Syrians.