There are approximately 4 million refugees in Turkey, and they are increasingly the objects of hostility — as the recent riots in Ankara have shown. Experts warn that the situation is likely to escalate in future.
It all began on Tuesday evening when a street fight erupted between two groups of youths in Altindag, a district of the Turkish capital, Ankara. In the violent confrontation between some Syrian migrants and a group of Turkish locals, two Turks were stabbed. A few hours later, one of them, 18-year-old Emirhan Yalcin, died in hospital.
The event sparked a wave of xenophobia that resembled a pogrom. On Thursday night, hundreds of people poured onto the streets of Altindag. There, they vandalized and ransacked stores, homes and cars belonging to Syrian immigrants.
These ugly scenes could be followed live on Twitter: Numerous videos were posted on the social network showing the angry mob vandalizing Syrian property and shouting xenophobic slogans. Some of the rioters make the so-called “wolf salute” with their hands, the symbol of Turkey’s right-wing extremist movement “UIlkucu,” also known as the “Gray Wolves.”