Tag Archives: Turkey

Sources say Turkey has no plans to follow the EU’s lead in designating Hezbollah as a terrorist group. A bipartisan group of 46 US Congressmen sent a letter to President Gul asking him to publicly condemn “anti-Semitic” comments by government officials. Prime Minister Erdogan has accused an “interest rate lobby” of being behind a number […]

The People’s Defense Units (YPG), the military arm of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), issued a call to arms against Islamist forces in Syria, and charged that the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, along with the Free Syrian Army, have “become one side in attacking the Kurdish people.” […]

In a surprise visit, the head of the PKK-affiliated Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) met with Turkish officials to discuss the creation of a provisional council in an area of northern Syria. He assured them that the PYD is against the Assad regime, and that the proposed provisional council would include Arabs, Syriacs, and Turkmen, […]

The army vowed to retaliate “in multiples” against any fire from Syria; tensions are rising along the border since Kurdish forces seized the town of Ras al-Ayn from the Al Nusrah Front last week. Turkey said it will not tolerate Kurdish autonomy in Syria. A military prosecutor asked for a 25-year sentence for a Turkish […]

The Parliament amended Turkey’s code to restrict the army’s power to defending against foreign threats, in place of a provision that had been used to justify military coups. Foreign Minister Davutoğlu and Iran’s foreign minister jointly called for a ceasefire in Syria during Ramadan. Davutoğlu also urged that all foreign fighters leave Syria, including Hezbollah. […]

Prime Minister Erdogan said only 10 to 15 percent of the militants affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have left Turkey. A police chief was killed in a clash with the PKK’s police unit, the Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H), in Şırnak. Suspected PKK militants in Tunceli attacked two villages and kidnapped a […]

Turkish police arrested four Belgians at the border as they tried to enter Syria to fight with the rebels; the four were sent back to Belgium. Last month Belgium had asked Turkey to tighten border security over concerns that a number of Belgians were traveling to Syria to fight; an estimated 100 Belgian citizens are […]

Police clashed with thousands of protesters in Istanbul’s Taksim Square after Prime Minister Erdogan ordered them to clear the area for a rally by the ruling AK party on Sunday. The governor of Istanbul claimed that “provocateurs” are now using guns in the protests. Erdogan said Turkish intelligence was looking into possible links between internal […]

Protests that began in Istanbul’s Taksim Square nearly two weeks ago against the authoritarian rule of Prime Minister Erdogan continued, with violence by both police and protesters. Three people have died and nearly 5,000 have been injured, many by the use of CR and tear gas, in the ongoing clashes. Protests have taken place in […]