ANKARA/WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, a Turkish court arrested 10 protesters accused of being involved in a physical confrontation with two US Marines in Turkey’s Aegean port city of Izmir.
The Izmir governor's office said on Monday that a group of 15 demonstrators assaulted two US Marines in the incident, which took place around 4 p.m. Five other US Marines became involved in the confrontation after it began, according to the official statement.
In a Turkish Youth Union (TGB) video circulated on social media, a group is seen restraining a man while shouting "Yankee go home." One protester forcibly thrusts a hood over the man's head, while in the background, a demonstrator holds a flag bearing the acronym of the self-styled Turkish anti-imperialist group, which has protested against the US military's presence in the country. Earlier in the video, another man can be seen taking a defensive stance and shouting "help" in English.
US Navy Cmdr. Tim Gorman, spokesperson for the US Sixth Fleet, said in a statement that the Marines were visiting Izmir as part of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which arrived on the USS Wasp. Gorman said the two Marines were in plain clothes when the incident occurred and had returned to their ship unharmed after a precautionary medical check at a hospital.
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