The Foreign Ministry said the exploitation of the incidents in Türkiye’s central province for provocations in Syria is wrong, amid the tensions in both countries over the sexual abuse of a Syrian minor by a Syrian national.

In a statement, the ministry warned against provocations.

It continued by saying that Türkiye’s efforts and principled stance for the well-being of the Syrian people is above all provocations.

Riots broke out over the sexual abuse of a Syrian child by a Syrian man in Kayseri province.

An angry mob stormed several neighborhoods of Kayseri’s Melikgazi district early on Monday after 26-year-old I.A., identified only by his initials, was caught sexually abusing M.A., the 7-year-old daughter of his uncle, in a public restroom.

The crowd was said to be looking for the suspected abuser as they set fire to shops and stoned the homes of foreigners in the district.

Police intervened with tear gas and 14 officers and a firefighter were injured as they struggled to disperse the crowd.

Across the border, in areas liberated from Daesh and PKK/YPG terrorists in Syria, a group of people desecrated the Turkish flag and attacked trucks from Türkiye.