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| Turkey detained hundreds of people after anti-Syrian riots. |
ISTANBUL - Turkish authorities said on Tuesday they had detained more than 470 people in several cities following anti-Syrian riots in which a Syrian man was accused of molesting a child.
Tensions have risen since Sunday after the violence in the central Anatolian city when a mob went on a rampage, damaging Syrian businesses and property.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that "474 people were detained in Turkey after provocative actions against Syrians".
A group of men targeted Syrian businesses and property in Kayseri on Sunday, with videos on social media showing a grocery store on fire.
In one video, a Turkish man was heard shouting: "We don't want any more Syrians!" We don't want any more foreigners.''A court in Kayseri ordered the arrest of the Syrian man late on Monday, with Justice Minister Yilmaz Tanak saying: "The child and his family are under the protection of our state".
Authorities said the baby was a Syrian girl who was related to the man accused of molesting her. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused the opposition of stoking tensions and called the anti-Syrian violence "unacceptable".
The unrest spread to several other cities, including Istanbul, late on Monday, and authorities have often called for calm.
Yerlikaya appealed to Turkish citizens, saying, "Let's not get angry, act in moderation."
He said that those who made these conspiracies against our state and nation will get the answer they deserve.
Turkish police increased security around the Syrian consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, deploying an armored truck and patrolling the area, according to an AFP journalist.
Turkey, which hosts about 3.2 million Syrian refugees according to UN figures, has been hit by inhumane violence several times in recent years, often spread on social media and instant messaging applications. Because of the rumors going around.
In August 2021, gangs of men targeted Syrian-occupied businesses and homes in the capital, Ankara, after a clash that left an 18-year-old man dead. The fate of Syrian refugees is also a burning issue in Turkish politics, with Erdogan's opponents pledging to send them back to Syria in last year's election.
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