Three refugees killed in alleged hate attack in İzmir

Photos: Deysem Siti

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Three refugees from Syria in Güzelbahçe district of the western province of İzmir were killed in a fire on November 16.

Mamoun al-Nabhan (23), Ahmed al-Ali (21) and Muhammed al-Bish (17) were killed in the fire that broke out while they were sleeping, according to the Mesopotamia Agency (MA).

Mülteci Medyası, a news platform focusing on refugees' rights, reported that the incident was a hate attack, citing the assailant's statement to the police.

Deysem Siti, the head of the Refugee Media Association, told daily Evrensel that "One of the families reached me three days ago. They said the incident was a homicide."

"They also said that the police had not given information to them. We followed up to learn about the incident," he said.

Citing refugees living in Güzelbahçe, Siti said the incident the fire was first said to be caused by a heating stove but there was camera footage showing it was an arson attack.

"In his statement, the assailant confessed that he had cut the electricity of the room where the refugees stayed at around 11 p.m. and started a fire at around 4 p.m.," said Siti. 

The homicide department is investigating the incident, he added.

Turkey hosts more than 3.7 million refugees from Syria under temporary protection status. Over 47 percent of them are children. (EMK/VK)