Violations Documentation Center in Northern Syria: Death toll of Syrians killed by Turkish border guards rises to 467

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA / ADANA, Turkey — The Violations Documentation Center in North and East Syria reported that the number of Syrians killed by Turkish border guards up until the end of September reached 467 people, including 87 children under 18-years-old. The number of Syrians wounded by Turkish border guards for the same period was 511.

Most of the people targeted by Turkish border guards were shot at with live ammunition while trying to cross the Syria–Turkey border.

The situation for Syrians who manage to make it across the border into Turkey, however, is precarious as best.

Turkish cities have witnessed increased attacks on Syrians who fled the civil war in their home country.

Earlier this week, 15 Syrians, including five girls, were physically assaulted in Adana, Turkey by a group of Turks wielding sticks and knives and robbed the Syrians of their possessions.

Although Turkey claims to take care of and sponsor Syrian refugees in its borders, attacks against them are met with indifference from security services and police.

On Monday, Turkish social media activists circulated a video documenting the scene of a Syrian being thrown from a height by four Turkish citizens in Istanbul.

Commenting on the incident, the activists said, “Four Turks, they lured a Syrian to an isolated place in Istanbul and beat him and then threw him from a height of seven meters into a stream in an attempt to get rid of him.”

In early August, two Syrian students were brutally assaulted in the Turkish state of Hatay by a group of Turkish youth after they learned of their Syrian nationality. The two Syrians suffered severe injuries and were transferred to a hospital for treatment

On 12 July, five Turkish youth raped a 15-year-old Syrian boy.

On 23 June, a group of Turkish youth attacked a 16-year-old Syrian boy and tried to steal his money and mobile phone in Istanbul.

A 9-year-old girl of special needs was also raped this year by a Turkish youth in Denizli Province, in western Turkey.

Several days ago, the European Commission announced that it had provided an additional €400 million for the Syrian refugees in Turkey.