ANKARA, July 2 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the background anti-Syrian actions in the republic, he expressed hope that Ankara and Damascus, striving to normalize relations, “will not fall into this trap.”
On Sunday, there were riots in the Turkish province of Kayseri after police detained a Syrian man in connection with violence against a child of Syrian origin, who is a relative of him. The child was handed over to the guardianship authorities, the man was arrested. Against the backdrop of the unrest, the Turkish presidential administration announced an attempt at provocations in order to disrupt peace and order in the republic. At the same time, the Syrian radio station Sham FM previously reported that in the areas of Afrin, Aazaz and Al-Bab in the north of Aleppo province, clashes occurred between Turkish troops and militants from a number of groups considered loyal to Ankara.
«The plan of chaos was played out in connection with the disgusting and notorious case of harassment in Kayseri. The second act was played out in northern Syria. We know very well who wrote them. Neither we nor our Syrian brothers and sisters will fall into this treacherous trap. I would like to emphasize that we do not succumb to racist vandalism and provocations. No one can put themselves in the place of the police, the judge and the state,” the Turkish leader said in his address to the nation after the cabinet meeting.
The Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that in connection with the unrest in Kayseri, about 37% of messages on social networks were published by bots, and almost 70% of messages were written for the purpose of provocation. An investigation has been launched into 63 social media accounts, and the owners of ten have already been brought to justice.
Law enforcement agencies detained almost 70 people who took part in the riots; Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said that Turkey is a rule of law state, and criminals receive a well-deserved punishment. Yerlikaya called manifestations of xenophobia and violation of public order unacceptable. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the opposition's «poisonous» reasoning one of the reasons for the incident.