URFA, Turkey –– In Turkey's Urfa (Ruha), a 13-year-old refugee from Syria was killed by her father on Thursday morning, according to witnesses. Amara Dwala reportedly had acid and paint thinner thrown on her, then was set ablaze.
According to neighbours and witnesses, the father wanted to marry off his daughter to be able to marry a second wife, but the girl refused.
Despite him having turned up the volume of the Qur'an loud, neighbours in the Sheikh Mehsuta Ruhay neighbourhood knew something was wrong.
“The sound of the Quran was so loud so no one could understand what was happening,” said neighbor Semra Kerpic.
Yasar Kerpic, also a neighbor, saw the aftermath of the crime.
“I came here breaking the door down with a hammer. I saw the girl laying on the ground right here. Her head and face were distorted. Her body was reduced to ash like coal,” said Kerpic.
“She could not utter anything at all. I saw her just once raise up her hand and put it down.”
Hours after the incident, Muhammed Dwala was arrested by police. His younger daughter who is 11-year-old has been taken away by police and put in an orphanage.
Since the refugee family had no relatives in the city, the body of the victim was buried by the neighbours.
According to them, the murderer, who is of Palestinian origin, had come to Turkey from Syria during the war.
Rudaw's Mashalla Dekak has learnt from neighbours that the murderer had divorced his wife some time ago.
“Our children are scared. All the neighbours witnessed what happened,” said Fatima Dogan, a neighbor. “My daughter is 20 years old. She keeps screaming wondering whether her father will do the same thing to her or not.”
Translation by Zhelwan Zeyad Wali
Video editing by Sarkawt Mohammed
