Syrian migrants attack gendarmerie in southeastern Turkish tent city, five injured

According to a press statement issued by the Mardin Governor’s Office, 66 Syrian migrants out of the 5,230 currently residing in the Temporary Sheltering Center in Mardin’s Derik district applied to the center’s hospital with symptoms of food poisoning, dizziness, and vomiting. 

“Other Syrians living in the tent city created uproar against the administration and the security forces by using this issue as an excuse,” read a part of the statement, adding that the incident took place at around 01:45 p.m. on April 30. 

Reinforcing security forces were moved to the scene to keep the situation under control. Five people in total were slightly injured. 

While a noncommissioned officer, three soldiers and one private security guard was injured during the brawl, the hospitalized Syrians were treated at the tent city’s hospital and were later discharged, with none of them in a critical condition, according to the statement. 

An investigation into the issue is being conducted and samples from the lunch were sent to the lab for examination, the statement added. 

Up to 2 million Syrian migrants fleeing their country due to the war are currently living in Turkey. UNDP head Helen Clark has told the Hürriyet Daily News that more than 800,000 people could flee Syria for Turkey throughout 2015.