Via Hurriyet Daily News – One Iraqi was stabbed in a brawl between locals and a group of Iraqis and Syrians in the Turkish capital Ankara on July 3, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported. Tension rose due to unknown reasons between locals and Iraqis before an Iraqi Turkmen was stabbed during the brawl, and later taken to hospital in Ankara’s Yenimahalle district.

Following the brawl, several locals and the refugees were involved in another fight, in which seven Syrian and Iraqi Turkmens were injured. Locals living in Yenimahalle’s Demetevler neighborhood attacked workplaces and houses, where the refugees have settled after escaping from their war-torn countries, with sticks and stones.

Police officers were dispatched to the scene with water cannon vehicles. Police intervened in the incident, bringing it under control. Many windows of houses and workplaces were smashed during the brawl, as police took precautions and tightened security measures against another possible brawl from erupting.

Several claims were spreading on social media after the incident over the cause of the fight, with one claiming that a five-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by a Syrian, while another one said a large number of locals escalated the attack.

Meanwhile, Ankara Governor Ercan Topaca denied the claims, stating that incidents involving Syrian and Iraqi refugees in Ankara’s Yenimahalle and Altındağ districts increased in the recent days.

“An altercation led to a physical fight. One person was stabbed in the brawl between locals and Iraqis. The injured, who is an Iraqi Turkmen, is not in a critical condition. Eight people were involved in the fight. Some of them were taken to hospital, while some refused to be taken to hospital,” he said.

Topaca also warned of provocations spreading on social media, saying that those who took part in spreading the false allegations would be identified. “Some untrue reports about a Turkish man being killed during the brawl are spreading on social media. We want our citizens to not rely on such false reports. There is no Turkish citizen among the wounded,” he added.

The article was originally published at Hurriyet Daily News. Read the article there