ALBAWABA - At least 4 people were killed and more than 20 injured in armed clashes between protestors and Turkish forces in northern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.
Hundreds of protestors took to the streets in several parts of the Syrian north following a night of violence in Turkey's Kayseri, where videos emerged on social media showing Turks burning and attacking houses, shops, and possessions of Syrians in the city.
"Armed demonstrators and Turkish forces engaged in armed clashes... in the city of Afrin. Four people were killed in exchanges of fire between protesters and guards stationed at Turkish positions," the Observatory reported.
The Observatory stated that 3 of those killed in the clashes were in the city of Afrin and another in Jarablos, with 20 more injured. An AFP journalist said that armed militants opened fire on Turkish lorries in the neighboring city of Al-Bab.
Demonstrations "accompanied by acts of violence" expanded throughout "large areas" of Turkey's controlled border strip, Observatory head Rami Abel Rahman told AFP, with demonstrations also stretching to Idlib.
According to the Observatory, some protestors tore down Turkish flags, and border guards opened fire on demonstrators attempting to rush the Jarablus border crossing.
According to AFP, protester Adel al-Faraj rushed to the streets to show sympathy with "our Syrian brothers in Turkey". "Our people fled from Bashar al-Assad only to be oppressed in Turkey," he added, urging Ankara to do more to end the violence against Syrians.
The protests erupted in the wake of anti-Syrian violence after a man was accused of sexually harassing a 7-year-old female relative. Turkish authorities announced that 67 people were arrested in relation to the violence in Kayseri.
"No matter who they are, setting streets and people's houses on fire is unacceptable," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated in response to the Syrian community's violent behavior.
According to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, the suspected Syrian national, identified only by his initials as I.A., was detained by police after being apprehended by Turkish civilians.
