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[Field News] Collective violence targeting Syrian refugees spreads in Türkiye


Collective violence targeting the Syrian refugee community is spreading in Türkiye .


According to state broadcaster TRT Haber on the 2nd (local time), for two days in a row, local residents in Kayseri, central Türkiye , threw stones at the homes and shops of Syrian refugees and set cars on fire.


Police used tear gas and water cannons to suppress them, and about 300 people were arrested in Kayseri alone.


Collective violence targeting Syrian refugees also occurred in other regions, including Antalya and Gaziantep.


A video was posted on social networking services (SNS) showing a crowd indiscriminately beating people who appeared to be Syrian refugees on the street.


The violence began on the 30th of last month when a Syrian man in Kayseri molested his 7-year-old cousin.


Residents who heard this news flocked to the area where Syrian refugees live and raided homes and stores in hopes of finding the suspect. Even though the local police arrested the offender, residents committed mass violence regardless.


On the 1st, the Interior Ministry of Türkiye said, “The police secured the identity of the sexual harassment suspect and immediately began an investigation,” adding, “However, after that, our citizens gathered in Karissery and illegally caused damage to the property, commercial facilities, and cars of Syrians.” revealed.


The police arrested 67 people who participated the day before, but violence targeting Syrian refugees spread to other provinces.


As violence against Syrians continued, Syrians held protests in front of the Turkiye military base the day before in some areas of northwestern Syria, where Turkiye had stationed troops under the pretext of countering terrorism.


Protesters protested by setting fire to cars with Türkiye license plates and tearing down Türkiye flags hanging on the streets.


(Omitted)


Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya Turkiye posted on X, “After the ugly incident in Kayseri, aggressive acts against Syrians took place in some cities yesterday”, adding that a total of 474 people had been detained on charges of violence.


The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that approximately 3.6 million Syrian refugees have been officially registered in Türkiye, but the actual number is reportedly as high as 4 million. Most of these Syrians left their homeland to escape the 13-year civil war.



He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?(Psalm 144:2-3)

We heard the unfortunate news that mass violence against Syrian refugees spread in Türkiye, leading to raids on the residences, shops, and properties of many Syrian refugees, and that Syrians protested in front of the Türkiye military base in response to this.


The land of Türkiye is also not a safe haven for the 4 million Syrian refugees who fled their homeland to escape the 13-year civil war.


May you help the Syrian refugees in Türkiye to realize that only the kingdom of God received through Jesus Christ is a fortress, fortress, shield, and refuge.


May the global church reach out to give a helping hand and spread the gospel to Syrian refugees, who now have to start over from scratch after their homes and stores that they have built for 13 years were destroyed.


May they realize how you think of them and regard them, and may they be the ones to testify this abounding grace to their families left behind in Syria, and to the other Syrian refugees scattered all over the Arab world.


Despite what they had to go through, please help the Syrian refugees to forgive the Turkish people with the heart of Jesus, and allow the two peoples to unite in Jesus Christ and be committed to serving other Arab peoples and nations. Thus, by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may the Syrian people become the gatekeepers who open the door and welcome the Lord, the Bridegroom, with joy on the day of His return!

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