Syrian refugees revolt at camp in Turkey

Syrians revolt, fly own flag at refugee camp in Turkey

Syrian refugees started a riot in a Gaziantep refugee camp today, taking down the Turkish flag and replacing it with their own, Doğan news agency reported.

Syrian refugees at the site began protesting about the 1,500 Turkmen refugees that had been added to the camp, precipitating a verbal argument with security officials.

The row soon escalated into a riot as hundreds of Syrians took Turkish police officers hostage and seized their guns. The Turkish flag at the entrance was taken down and refugees replaced it with their own.

Syrian refugees also heavily damaged the central building nearby while destroying computers and crime-scene vehicles on the scene.

Local authorities immediately asked for back up.  Special forces soon arrived and entered the camp, dispersing the rioters. Turkish citizens also tried to intervene but were prevented from doing so by security officials.   Turkish citizens quickly took down the Syrian opposition flag, replacing it with the original Turkish one.

22.07.2012
SOURCE: HDN