Tag Archives: Turkey

The government shut the Öncüpınar border gate after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant seized the nearby Syrian town of Azar. The key crossing itself, which includes the Syrian Bab al-Salameh gate, has been held by Syrian rebels, chiefly the Free Syrian Army’s Northern Storm Brigade, since last year. According to a recent […]

A Turkish fighter jet shot down a Syrian helicopter after it allegedly violated Turkish airspace after disregarding repeated warnings; the helicopter landed in Syrian territory one kilometer from the border. Turkey said it would inform NATO and the UN of the circumstances, and that the incident would serve as a warning not to violate Turkish […]

Prosecutors in southern Turkey issued an indictment against six members of the Al Nusrah Front who were among 11 persons arrested in May in Adana with chemicals used to make sarin gas. Syrian national Hytham Qassap, 35, was indicted along with five Turkish citizens for trying to procure chemical materials in Turkey for the Al […]

Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said Syria should surrender its chemical weapons but the Assad regime should still be punished; he also denied that Turkey has links with radical groups in Syria, especially the Al Nusrah Front. Turkish officials denied reports that the Al Nusrah Front has been allowed to establish camps and use guesthouses near Ceylanpınar […]

Prime Minister Erdogan said the goal for any military intervention in Syria should be regime change. “A limited operation cannot be satisfactory to us,” he said. Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said the Assad regime was responsible for the Aug. 21 chemical attack in Damascus and cited a Turkish intelligence report.

The military claimed it repelled “up to 4,000 smugglers” in a nine-hour clash near the Narlıca Oğulpınar post in Hatay province. The group of approximately 3,000 people on foot, 350 horseback riders, and 250 vehicles was trying to cross over from Syria. A similar incident with “3,000 smugglers” occurred 10 days ago. Police detained two […]

Prime Minister Erdoğan said only about 20 percent of militants from the banned Kurdistan Workers Party have withdrawn, and that Turkey will continue operations against the group until it lays down arms. Three more suspects in the Reyhanli car bombing were arrested; a total of 32 have been detained. A Turkish soldier will be tried […]

In response to an opposition query, Foreign Minister Davutoğlu said that seven Turkish civilians have died in Syria since the start of the Syrian uprising, but claimed that the foreign ministry has no “detailed inventory of persons entering and exiting” from Turkish border gates into Syria. The headquarters of the Syrian National Coalition is moving […]

Turkish troops repelled a group of some 1,150 “smugglers” who were attempting to enter Hatay province from Syria. The troops warned the group, which included 150 horseback riders and 40 vehicles, but shot back after 15 or 20 rounds were fired at the military. A soldier was injured when some of the 35 gas cans […]

Salih Muslim, the head of the Kurdish PYD, reportedly returned to Turkey for talks with officials; the PYD seized the town of Ras al-Eyn from Islamist fighters in July. Turkey is said to be exercising little or no control over jihadist fighters entering and leaving Syria. A recent report claiming that Sudanese arms were purchased […]

Turkey urged all of its citizens to leave Lebanon, after two Turkish pilots were kidnapped in Beirut today. Turkey’s embassy in Yemen was put on ‘red alert’ and security was increased, but remains open. Prosecutors are seeking life sentences for four suspects charged in the Cilvegözü border gate attack that killed 18 people.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu warned Syrian Kurds against siding with the Assad regime and said they should align themselves with the Syrian opposition and would have a place in “a permanent structure in Syria,” so long as they do not affect Turkish borders. The Ergenekon coup plot trial ended with the sentencing of 17 defendants, […]