Thais in Turkey warned of violence following attack against consular office.
The Thai embassy in Turkey Thursday issued an urgent warning to about 1,300 Thais in the country to be careful and monitor news from the embassy closely after protesting Turkish people stormed in and damaged property of the Thai consular office in Istanbul.
A move likely to anger Turkey and exacerbate Ankara's row with Beijing over its treatment of the Turkic language-speaking and largely Muslim minority.
Hundreds, possibly thousands, of Uighurs have fled unrest in China’s western Xinjiang region where hundreds of people have been killed, prompting a crackdown by Chinese authorities. They have travelled clandestinely through Southeast Asia to Turkey.
The embassy based in Ankara posted a message on its Facebook wall that the protesters stormed in at midnight Wednesday.
It was reported that the protesters were angry that the Thai government repatriated Uighurs back to China.
The embassy said so far no Thais have been injured in the incident.
The embassy added that the consular office would be closed Thursday.
The embassy also warned Thai tourists not to carry Thai flag while visiting Turkey and they were urged to avoid rallying sites.