30 children raped in "model" refugee camp

The rapist has been arrested. Beyond the horror of the news, it is suspected that the fact the abuse was taking place was common knowledge, but has only emerged now as part of the power struggle against outgoing Prime Minister Davudoglu.

 

Gaziantep (AsiaNews) – The Turkish newspaper, BirGün, is reporting that as many as thirty Syrian refugee children have been raped in the Nizip refugee camp, not far from Gaziantep, Turkey.

The perpetrator of the violence against 30 children is believed to have been a cleaner – referred to by the newspaper with the initials EE - who has been arrested.

Beyond the horror of the news, there are suspicions that it was common knowledge that abuse was taking place, but the fact has only emerged into the public sphere as part of the political power struggle against the soon-to-be former Prime Minister Davudoglu.

In fact AFAD, which is the Turkish Prime Minister’s Office for Emergency Management, is responsible for security in the camps. Moreover, Nizip was considered by the Turkish authorities a model refugee camp, and was personally visited by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her recent trip to Turkey.

Investigations were sparked by military guards at the outside the camp who through binoculars noticed a suspicious movement around the baths, so much so that an official, interviewed by BirGün, held AFAD directly responsible for the incident.

Turkish newsagency Dogan reports that the camp can accommodate up to 14 thousand refugees, but currently houses only 10,800 Syrians and is now at the center of other scandals which are beginning to leak out. Recently published reports reveal that the Turkish military fired continuously against Syrian asylum seekers, so that Amnesty International has declared Turkey a place "unsafe" for asylum seekers.

The main opposition force in the country, Republican People's Party (CHP), has requested the opening of a parliamentary inquiry and on Friday sent, a delegation to Nizip, as Veli Agbaba, the Assistant Secretary of the CHP reported on his Twitter account. (PB)

• Turkey refugees Syrians Davutoglu