One killed in brawl between locals and Afghan, Syrian migrants in Istanbul

ISTANBUL

AA photo

A group of people attacked an Afghan migrant in Istanbul’s Fatih district on May 15 at the funeral of a man killed one day before, leading the police to calm the crowd down by dispersing them with paint capsules. 

Tension arose after a 24-year-old local man, Ramazan Şahin, was killed during a brawl between locals and migrants living in Istanbul’s Sultangazi district late on May 14, with riot police intervening in a group protesting the murder with water cannons and tear gas. 

The brawl was reportedly ignited after a group of Syrian and Afghan migrants heckled women in the İsmetpaşa neighborhood of the district. 

Locals reacted against the heckling, leading to a fight in which Şahin was heavily wounded.

Ambulances and police officers were dispatched to the scene. Şahin was taken to a nearby private hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. 

On the day of the funeral, tensions continued after a group of people attacked the Afghan migrant walking on a street near the Akşemsettin Mosque. Police intervened in the attack, saving the Afghan migrant. However the crowd later directed their anger at press members present at the mosque. 

The tension has been reported as still present in the area.      

Şahin’s relatives gathered in front of the hospital after the announcement of his death, with his uncle, Salih Arslan, saying his nephew was stabbed by a member of the foreign group. 

“The incident occurred at around 11 p.m. over the heckling of women in the neighborhood by some Afghans and Syrians. Ramazan Şahin is my nephew. He went outside after he heard noise from outside. Youngsters in the neighborhood started a fight with almost 60 people, including Syrians and Afghans. My nephew lost his life at the age of 24 after being stabbed by one of them,” Arslan said.   

He also stated that similar incidents had been happening in recent days.

“We condemn those who have filled their houses with Afghans and Syrians just to gain 10 or 20 Turkish Liras more. We will protest this incident tomorrow after the funeral ceremony,” Arslan said.

“We are suffering and we will not harbor those who made us suffer. These kinds of incidents are happening constantly but nobody intervenes in them,” he further said.