Four wounded in fight between Turks, Syrians in central Turkey

Four wounded in fight between Turks, Syrians in central Turkey

KONYA – Doğan News Agency
Four wounded in fight between Turks, Syrians in central Turkey

DHA photo

A fight erupted between Turkish citizens and Syrian migrants in the Central Anatolian province of Konya on June 26, leaving four people wounded. 

The incident began when a group of Syrian migrants allegedly started an argument with another group of Syrians over not fasting during Ramadan. As the altercation escalated, Turkish people living in the Şükran neighborhood of the Meram district reacted harshly to the situation. 

“You are fighting every day. There’s no peace left in our neighborhood,” shop owners Mehmet Büyüksamancı, 25, and Muhammed Selim Sertdemir, 23, told the Syrians at around 9 p.m.

The Syrians stopped fighting among each other and started to fight with Büyüksamancı and Sertdemir instead, which was followed by a fight involving rocks, sticks and knives, according to reports.

Other residents of the neighborhood became involved in the fight and Büyüksamancı was stabbed in the hand. Sertdemir and two Syrians, Amir Muhammet and Ömer Mansur, were also wounded in the fight, which was recorded by a nearby security camera.

The wounded were taken to nearby hospitals. 

Muhammet and Mansur, on whom a pistol was found, were detained over the incident, as the police said the number of detentions could increase.