Turkey marks 6 years since death of Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi

MUĞLA-Anadolu Agency

Turkey on Sept. 2 marked six years since the body of 3-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi washed ashore, making headlines worldwide and becoming a symbol of the refugee crisis from the war in Syria.

The toddler had been on board a boat carrying 14 irregular migrants, five of whom died when it sank.

The picture of his lifeless body jolted the world, giving a face to the humanitarian crisis the ongoing civil war in Syria has caused.

A memorial service is held at Fener Burnu Beach, where his body was found by locals on Turkey's Mediterranean town of Bodrum, every year on Sept. 2.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency during the memorial this year, Ömer Sarıkaya, who shot the movie Aylan Baby to shed light on the fate of refugees, said what happened was the shame of humanity and they organized the memorial service so that the world can see this shame.

Nothing has changed since then, Sarıkaya said, adding: "For me, this is the shame of the UN. Thousands, maybe tens of thousands of Aylan babies have unfortunately lost their lives in these seas since that day. We hope that the world will not turn a blind eye to this and something like it will never happen again."

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced, according to UN estimates.