The brawl was reportedly ignited after a group of Syrian and Afghan-origin people allegedly heckled women in the İsmetpaşa neighbourhood of Istanbul’s Sarıgazi district.
Locals reacted against the heckles and a fight broke out in which 24-year-old local man Ramazan Şahin was heavily wounded and died at the hospital.
Tension continued to rise in the area in the aftermath of Şahin’s death, with riot police intervening in a group protesting the murder with water cannons and tear gas. Locals chanted "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," during the protest.
Şahin’s relatives gathered in front of the hospital after the announcement of his death, with his uncle, Salih Arslan, saying his nephew was stabbed by a member of the foreign group.
“The incident occurred at around 11 p.m. over the heckling of women in the neighbourhood by some Afghans and Syrians. Ramazan Şahin is my nephew. He went outside after he heard noise from outside. Youngsters in the neighbourhood started a fight with almost 60 people, including Syrians and Afghans. My nephew lost his life at the age of 24 after being stabbed by one of them,” Arslan said.
In the districts where foreigners are settled in groups, attacks are common against foreigners, and Kurds. Heckling women is also a prevalent form of harassment in Turkey.
