Turkish media reported an incident in the southern city of Kilis, where a Syrian family of five was discovered dead in their home. According to the Turkish agency DHA, the family consisted of a father, a mother, and three children. Medical teams conducting the initial examination found that the mother and children had been strangled to death, while the father was discovered hanged with a rope tied to his mouth.
NTV, a Turkish television channel, reported that the father, identified as a Syrian refugee, allegedly strangled his wife and three children, aged between five and eight, before taking his own life for reasons yet to be determined. Turkish authorities have begun preliminary investigations into the incident, and the bodies have been transferred to the city’s state hospital morgue for further examination to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
The deceased father was employed as a construction worker, and concerns arose among relatives when they lost contact with him and received no word from the family. They subsequently alerted the police.
In February, a young Syrian man was fatally stabbed by Turkish youths who had raided his home in Afyonkarahisar province.
Similarly, towards the end of 2023, five Syrians, including two children, were shot dead by their 72-year-old neighbour in the Turkish capital. The altercation between neighbours on Papatya Street in the Mustafa Kemal district of the Sinjan district escalated, leading to the shooting.
Turkey currently hosts over three million Syrian refugees under the “temporary protection” system, with Kilis, where this incident occurred, accounting for 70,614 of them, according to recent statistics from the Turkish Immigration Presidency.
However, there has been a decline in the number of Syrian refugees under temporary protection in Turkey since 2023, with the figure dropping to over 313,000, according to the Turkish Immigration Presidency. This decline can be attributed to various factors, including deportations to Syria, illegal migration to Europe, or the search for alternative countries of residence such as Egypt.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
