A Syrian man identified as Anas Laila was allegedly shot and killed by Turkish police during a raid on the wrong address in the early hours of November 21, according to accounts from family members and local media reports.
According to relatives, police raided the family’s home in the southern province of Hatay around 5 a.m., and Leyla, 30, asked officers for a moment so his wife could cover herself before a search was conducted. They allege that an officer opened fire without warning, shooting him in the head in front of his children.
Family members claim the officers soon realized they had raided the wrong address. Instead of assisting Leyla, they allegedly left him critically wounded and moved on to the intended location. No ambulance was called, and the man was “left to die,” relatives said.
Turkish authorities have not released a public statement confirming the details of the operation.
However, independent İstanbul MP Mustafa Yeneroğlu raised the incident in parliament, submitting a nine-point question to the ministry of interior. He said the incident prompted serious concerns about excessive use of force, unlawful entry, a failure of transparency and a possible violation of the victim’s right to life.
Following public pressure, local officials reportedly visited the family. According to Syrian NGO official Mehdi Davud, the governor of Hatay and the Dörtyol district governor met with relatives, and the interior ministry dispatched an investigative team. The police officer who allegedly opened fire has reportedly been suspended.
Laila, originally from Hazano in Syria’s Idlib region, had been living in Turkey since 2013. He was married with two children and had no criminal record, according to the family.
The family has called on both Turkish and Syrian authorities to investigate the incident and bring those responsible to justice. “No matter who pulled the trigger, justice must be served,” the family said in a public statement. “There is no law in the world that legitimizes killing a man under these circumstances.”
This case follows a series of prior incidents involving police violence against Syrian refugees in Turkey, several of which resulted in death and later attracted public or legal scrutiny.
In April 2020 19-year-old Ali al-Hamdan, a Syrian refugee, was shot and killed by a Turkish police officer in the southern city of Adana after allegedly fleeing a curfew checkpoint. A court later convicted the officer, and the verdict was upheld by Turkey’s highest appeals court in 2023.
In April 2023 Turkish border guards allegedly tortured and killed two Syrian migrants during forced returns. Among them was Abdel Razzak al Qastal, 18, who reportedly died from beatings near the Bab al-Hawa border crossing.
Human rights groups have long called for stronger oversight of police conduct and protection measures for refugee populations in Turkey. The death of Leyla has intensified those concerns, particularly around accountability in night raids targeting civilian homes.
