Tensions are running high in the Beyşehir district of the Central Anatolian province of Konya, where a young Turkish man and a Syrian man were recently killed in a street fight, as local residents, including the slain Turkish teen’s family, demand the Syrians living in the area leave.
Two people were killed and another three were wounded in a fight between Syrians and Turks which erupted over the kicking of a stray dog late on July 9 in Beyşehir. The fight was reportedly started after Mehmet Bayraktar, 18, saw four Syrians kicking a stray dog and warned them not to do so.
A number of local Beyşehir residents, including Bayraktar’s parents, have shown their anger since the deadly incident, voicing that they no longer wanted Syrians in their town
Mustafa Sevimli, whose shop was below an apartment that was stoned by an angry crowd, said Syrians had been welcomed in the town but now they were posing a threat.
“Now we are concerned. We do not want them to be here anymore. Syrians have come here as guests and we want them to act as guests. We will then show our hospitality. But if they do craziness, the people of Beyşehir won’t stand behind them. Until now, the people of Beyşehir embraced them with love,” said Sevimli.
Another shopkeeper in the same building, Ömer Duran, said the state had to find solutions to the problem.
“They have used our love for mean purposes. The state should give the necessary punishment, because if people get involved in this [situation], things would get out of hand. [The Syrian] people who live in this building have gathered on the top floor. The landlord also wants to take them out. Now, we, as the shopkeepers are being affected,” said Duran.
