Turkish mob armed with improvised weapons chant death threats, search for Armenians in Lyon, France

12:00,

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 29, ARMENPRESS. A mob of hundreds of Turkish nationalists took to the streets overnight in Lyon, France searching for Armenians and chanting death threats. The incident follows the attack on a peaceful Armenian demonstration earlier on October 28.

A Lyon citizen, Natali Bianco, said on social media that the Turkish mob was armed with baseball bats, pipes and other improvised weapons. “In just a few minutes we saw how hundreds of Turkish young people were causing chaos in the city center, waving flags, baseball bats, pipes and smoke. They stormed into the city center chanting “death to Armenians”, “Allah Akbar”, and other slogans. They were obviously looking to start a fight and were threatening passersby who were daring to even look at them.”

Many of them were gesturing the sign of the Grey Wolves, the Turkish ultranationalist organization. Police were dispatched to the scene. The eyewitness said she was “shocked” from the half-hour long “war”.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan

Emil Lazarian

“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose wars have all been fought and lost, whose structures have crumbled, literature is unread, music is unheard, and prayers are no more answered. Go ahead, destroy Armenia . See if you can do it. Send them into the desert without bread or water. Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.” - WS