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Syrian Refugees Are Being Attacked In Turkey And Having Their Personal Data Leaked

Syrian refugees are being attacked in Turkey and having their personal data leaked.

Cherry Mohamed Kassy Cho

Cherry Mohamed, Kassy Cho

— 6 min read
Syrian Refugees Are Being Attacked In Turkey And Having Their Personal Data Leaked

Syrian refugees are being attacked in Turkey and having their personal data leaked.

On June 30, a Syrian man was arrested for allegedly sexually abusing a 7-year-old Syrian girl in central Turkey.

This sparked outrage among Turkish people, who started attacking Syrians and setting their shops and cars on fire across different cities, demanding that they be kicked out of the country.

Syrian refugee Neroz Hussein (L), her husband Adil Sheho (R) and their children pose at her house in the southwest of the city centre of Sanliurfa. (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey is home to more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees, who had been forced to seek refuge there due to the Syrian civil war, which has been going on for more than 12 years now.

Fatima Ibrahim, who came from Kobane, poses with her children, in Sanliurfa on May 17, 2022. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP)

The war began as a peaceful uprising against President Bashar al-Assad and his regime in 2011.

A Syrian paramedic carries an injured child following reported bombardment by Syrian and Russian forces in the rebel-held town of Hamouria, in the Eastern Ghouta. (Photo by ABDULMONAM EASSA / AFP) (Photo by ABDULMONAM EASSA/AFP via Getty Images)
People prepare to start a new life in the area. Motorcycles are the most common transportation vehicles used in the area. (Photo by Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

However it turned into a full-blown civil war that has since killed more than 500,000 people, including more than 162,000 civilians killed by the Syrian government and its allies.

Syrians fleeing from clashes between the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) militants and Democratic Union Party (PYD) forces in the Ar-Raqqah Governorate of Syria. (Photo by Halil Fidan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Syrian children, among those who fled from government forces' advance on Maaret al-Numan in the south of Idlib prvoince, look on as they stand outside tents at a camp for the displaced near the town of Dana in the province's north near the border with Turkey. (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)

The violence in Turkey then escalated in other areas, leading to three people stabbing a 15-year-old Syrian boy, Ahmed Hamdan El Naif, to death on July 3, in the southwestern city of Antalya, according to local media.

474 people have since been arrested over anti-Syrian violence, according to Turkish authorities.

Wreckages of collapsed buildings are seen after Assad Regime's airplanes carried out airstrike over the besieged town of Arbin in Eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria. (Photo by Ammar Al Bushy/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Following the riots, the personal information, including passport details and addresses of up to hundreds of thousands of Syrians in Turkey was leaked and shared on the internet.

The total number of files that were leaked is still unclear, but a 14-year-old boy has been arrested.

There are now fears that the leaked data could lead to further violence against Syrian refugees.

Syrian refugees arrive at the Oncupinar crossing gate, close to the town of Kilis, south central Turkey, in order to cross to Syria for the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday. (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)

The anti-Syrian riots sparked backlash in northwestern Syria, with hundreds of Syrian protestors, some armed, tearing down Turkish flags and attempting to cross the border into Turkey

The Syrians, who fled the civil war in their country and took refuge in Turkey. (Photo by Hakan Akgun/ dia images via Getty Images)

At least four people were killed in "exchanges of fire" with Turkish guards, according to Al Jazeera.

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