Tension rises in Turkey's northwestern province over right-of-way fight

BURSA – Doğan News Agency

The group, who marched to a neighborhood in the northwestern province’s İznik district in which the alleged murder suspect lives, stoned a local clubhouse and numerous houses and workplaces. AA photo

Relatives of Zeki Dursun, who was killed on Sept. 7 in a right-of-way fight in Bursa, marched on Sept. 8 into a predominantly Roma neighborhood where the alleged murder suspect lives, raising ethnic tensions.

The group, who marched to a neighborhood in the northwestern province’s İznik district in which the alleged murder suspect lives, stoned a local clubhouse and numerous houses and workplaces. Police intervened against the group with tear gas, while İznik District Gov. Hüseyin Karameşe tried to calm the crowd down. 

Emrah Türk, a 26-year-old who was among the group stoning the neighborhood, was injured in the back by a bullet from an unknown shooter. 

During the fight over the right of way with suspects that are believed to be of Roma origin, Dursun and another individual, Yunus Emre Akın, suffered gun and stick injuries. Dursun succumbed to his injuries at İznik State Hospital. N.D., 45, and his son, 16-year-old M.D., both of Roma origin, were detained over alleged involvement in the incident.

Dursun’s relatives raided and destroyed the furniture within the clubhouse of the İznik Social Solidarity, Culture and Sports Association, a venue mostly used by Roma people, and stoned houses and workplaces belonging to the same ethnic minority. 

Karameşe gathered the crowd in the municipality’s tea garden in an attempt to calm them down, saying nobody should act impulsively. 

“Do not end up being wrong when you are right. No one should act impulsively. The criminals will be found and put on trial,” Karameşe said. 

Police formed a safety line at the forefront of the neighborhood, whereas riot police and water cannon vehicles were transferred from Bursa’s center to the district.