Seven arrested over fight between Syrians, Turks in central Turkey

KONYA – Doğan News Agency

A court in the Central Anatolian province of Konya on July 13 arrested seven people, including a Turkish man, over their alleged links to a street fight which caused the deaths of a Turk and a young Syrian man and prompted angry reactions from locals in the province’s Beyşehir district.

Seven people out of 16 detained were arrested after the incident, which allegedly occurred after a one of the victims, Turk Mehmet Bayraktar, 18, argued with four young Syrian men, including the other victim, Syrian İbrahim El Ali, over a stray dog late on July 9. 

While Bayraktar and El Ali were killed in the fighting, three other Syrians were injured. 

While investigating the murders, police found three knives and detained 16 people, including nine Syrian suspects who allegedly played a role in the incident. 

The arrested suspects included Bayraktar’s cousin, Ahmet Bayraktar, 25, along with Abdullah Muhammed and Kasım Muhammed, who were reportedly both involved and injured in the fight.  

Beyşehir’s locals have strongly reacted to the incident, with some of them, including Bayraktar’s parents, voicing that they no longer wanted Syrians in their town. 

The police have taken wide security measures since the incident, with riot control vehicles with water cannons, known as TOMAs, and some 400 police officers dispatched to the town as a precaution.

Speaking after the killing of their son, the Bayraktar family demanded measures be taken to prevent similar killings. 

Meanwhile some of the 900 Syrians living in the town have already left after their homes were allegedly stoned following the deadly fight. 

Mustafa Sevimli, whose shop was below an apartment that was stoned by an angry crowd, said Syrians had been welcomed in the town before but now they posed a threat.