Turkey Shuts Syria Border Amid Ongoing Violence
The Facts
Turkey closed its major border checkpoint into northwest Syria on Tuesday following an exchange of fire between Turkish forces and Syrians who were protesting violence against their community in Turkey.
This comes as riots erupted across central and southern Turkey on Sunday and Monday against Syrian refugees after Turkish authorities arrested a Syrian man for allegedly sexually abusing a seven-year-old Syrian girl in the city of Kayseri.
The Spin
Narrative A
The isolated incidents in Kayseri and other parts of Turkey do not represent Turkish values. Far-right parties are inciting racism against Syrians for cheap political gains. In Syria, the Syrian opposition has called for restraint, as it is clear to everyone that Turkey has been the most significant supporter of the Syrian revolution. Turkey has shouldered the burden of a large share of refugees and remains a staunch ally of the Syrian people.
Narrative B
Erdoğan has quite the conundrum — his populace is unhappy with the presence of Syrians in Turkey as the economy falters, the Turkish army is still fighting Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria, and discontent among Syrians living in Turkish-controlled areas is growing. Indeed, the Turkish government's potential normalization with Syria's dictator Bashar al-Assad has only added fuel to the fire. Turkey has repeatedly failed to understand the problem and will have to act fast to solve it.
