Tag Archives: Turkey

The opposition party accused Prime Minister Erdogan’s government of using discretionary funds to recruit, arm, train, and finance al Qaeda-linked groups in Turkey for battle in Syria. Last week Syrian Kurdish leader Salih Muslim accused the Erdogan government of facilitating the operations of the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda, and the Ahrar al Sham in […]

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 […]