Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that 474 arrests have been made in connection with widespread attacks by Turkish nationalist mobs against Syrian refugees across the country.. At the same time, Turkish media reports that Turkish reinforcements are being sent to areas of northern Syria, where riots have erupted against the presence of Turkish forces that have controlled the region since 2016.

The spate of attacks against Syrians began on Sunday night, June 30, in Caesarea, central Turkey, after information or rumors circulated in the city that a Syrian refugee attempted to sexually assault a 7-year-old girl, with whom he is reportedly related. The spread of the claim on social media turned into attacks and arson against migrant workplaces and vehicles in the city, and the attacks soon spread to at least 10 Turkish cities.

According to images, videos and posts on social media accounts, during the night, businesses and vehicles belonging to immigrants were vandalized in Alexandretta, Bursa, Kilis, Iconium, Urfa, Adana, Gaziantep, Izmir , Antalya and Istanbul, while demonstrations with racist characteristics against immigrants were organized.

At the same time, in the areas of Al-Bab, Azez, Al-Rai, Idlib, ‘Afrin and other areas of northern Syria where they are controlled by the Turkish army and the Syrian National Army of the Syrian opposition, riots broke out against the presence of Turkish forces. Armed protesters attacked trucks with Turkish license plates and two branches of the Turkish Post Office (PTT). They also took down Turkish flags from masts, which they burned or destroyed, while demanding that only the Syrian flag used by the opposition and the Syrian National Army be used. After this development, attacks against Syrians in Turkey escalated.

Turkish media reported that reinforcements of the Turkish army and police are being pushed into northern Syria, while the border between the two countries remains closed.

Recent indications of a potential “imminent understanding” between Ankara and Assad in Damascus are seen as “one of the reasons for the attacks against the Turkish presence in the region”, as several members of the Syrian opposition organizations and men of the Syrian National Army feel that Ankara abandons them in order to restore its relations with Damascus and the Assad regime. Ankara’s need to reach out to Bashar al-Assad’s regime stems from its desire to eliminate from northern Syria the US-backed and regionally dominant Kurdish militia of the Syrian Democratic Forces and the Kurdish PYD faction, which the Turkish government accuses it of being a branch of the PKK organization, which acts against Turkey.

Speaking after the meeting of the Council of Ministers, this Tuesday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke of “provocations” and a “chaos plan” set up in Caesarea. “We are a country that has become immune to the plans of chaos” by agents and provocateurs, the Turkish president said, referring to similar dark plans in the past and claiming that even now “the same plan of chaos was set up through an extremely disgusting and shameful case of harassment in Caesarea”.

He further claimed that the second act of this project was set against Turkish interests and the Turkish presence in northern Syria. “God willing, neither we nor our nation nor our Syrian brothers will fall into this treacherous trap. I would like to emphasize here again that we will not bow to hate speech, fascism, racist vandalism and provocations. We know how to break the hands of those who turn against the oppressed people who find refuge in our country, just as we know how to break the dirty hands that reach out to our flag,” he added.

The Turkish president also emphasized that no one can replace the police, judges and the state in the country.

He announced that after the incidents in Caesarea “474 rioters were arrested”, while the Turkish intelligence services are conducting intensive work in relation to the incidents.

At the same time, he pointed out that “the forces of the Syrian National Army and our Turkish security forces intervened together in the incidents in northern Syria, while the interim government declared by the Syrian opposition publicly stated that it condemns in the strongest way the attacks against our glorious flag. The treason attempt failed once again.”

Recep Tayyip Erdogan also asserted that Turkey has no ambitions for anyone’s territory and sovereignty. “The protection of the territorial integrity and national unity of Syria is a priority for Turkey” he emphasized and underlined that “we want to see a democratic, prosperous and strong Syria. We would like to see Syria become a safe place for the millions of people who have been forced to flee their homes.”

Finally, in an attempt to fend off the accusations of opposition circles for the gathering in the country of a large number of Syrian refugees, Tayyip Erdogan said: “We have always encouraged the voluntary, safe and dignified return of our Syrian brothers. 670 thousand people returned to northern Syria, which we cleared of terrorism. Another 1 million will be added to this number. We will be happy if we can create a climate so that everyone can return to their homeland voluntarily and peacefully.”