Turkish border guards kill, torture Syrians: HRW

Six guards are under investigation by Turkish authorities for their alleged role in the attack.
Turkish soldiers detain Syrians attempting to illegally cross into Hatay, Turkey on January 5, 2016 (Photo: Anadolu Photo Agency)
Turkish soldiers detain Syrians attempting to illegally cross into Hatay, Turkey on January 5, 2016 (Photo: Anadolu Photo Agency)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – According to Human Rights Watch, Turkish border guards are indiscriminately firing on Syrian civilians attempting to cross into Turkey.

“The Turkish government should investigate and hold border guards accountable for violating human rights of innocent civilians, including unlawful killings, as well as end the long-standing impunity for these abuses,” Human Rights Watch said in a report today.

Reportedly, on March 11, 2023, Turkish border guards viciously beat and tortured eight Syrians who were attempting to cross into Turkey. One man and a boy died while in Turkish custody, and the others were seriously injured.

Six guards are under investigation by Turkish authorities for their alleged role in the attack.

Moreover, on March 13, a Turkish border guard shot and killed a 59-year-old Syrian man who was plowing his land in an area adjacent to the border. No information has been made available about an investigation into this killing. 

“Turkish gendarmes and armed forces in charge of border control routinely abuse and indiscriminately fire on Syrians along the Syrian-Turkish border, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries in recent years,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

“Arbitrary killings of Syrians are particularly egregious and part of a pattern of brutality by Turkish border guards, that the government has failed to curb or investigate effectively.”

In early March 2023, Human Rights Watch obtained data from an organization monitoring hostilities in Syria that documented 277 individual incidents between October 2015 and April 2023.

At least 234 deaths and 231 injuries have been reported, the vast majority of which occurred while victims attempted to cross the border. 

The organization did not disclose the name of the victims due to concerns that Turkish authorities may negatively affect its humanitarian work.