Tag: Ankara

Erdogan warns Netherlands will ‘pay price’ after minister’s expulsion

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) –Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday threatened that the Netherlands would “pay a price” after expelling a Turkish minister and preventing Ankara’s top diplomat from landing ahead of planned rallies. The crisis with the Netherlands is the most serious yet as tensions spiral between Turkey and its EU allies over the desire of top Turkish officials to hold rallies abroad ahead of the April 16 referendum on a new constitution that […]

Turkey jails 32,000 in coup probe as mass trials loom

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – by Stuart WILLIAMS Turkey said Wednesday that courts have placed 32,000 suspects under arrest on charges of links to a group run by the US-based preacher blamed for July’s failed coup, as the country braces for the most extensive trials in its history. Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag told NTV television that 70,000 people had been investigated after the attempted putsch on July 15, 32,000 of them remanded in custody. “This process […]

Ten more Turkish tanks head across border into Syria

by Bulent KILIC KARKAMIS, Turkey (AFP) — At least 10 more Turkish tanks on Thursday crossed the border into Syria a day after pro-Ankara Syrian opposition fighters ousted jihadists from the town of Jarabulus, an AFP photographer said. The tanks were set to join around a dozen others which had crossed the frontier on Monday in Operation Euphrates Shield, which Turkey says aims at ridding the border area of Islamic State (IS) extremists and also Kurdish […]

Biden in Ankara as Turkey launches Syria operation

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Turkey on Wednesday for critical talks with its leadership as Ankara launched a military operation to drive Islamic State jihadists out of a key Syrian border town. In the highest-ranking visit by a Western official since Turkey’s July 15 failed coup, Biden will seek to repair relations with its NATO ally after the putsch, which Ankara blames on Pennsylvania-based preacher Fethullah Gulen. Turkey has […]

Turkey backtracks on ‘IS child bomber’ claims

by Raziye AKKOC with Stuart WILLIAMS in Istanbul ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey on Monday went back on claims that a child bomber linked to Islamic State (IS) jihadists carried out a deadly suicide bombing close to Syria, saying it had no clue who was behind the attack. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Ankara could not confirm who was the perpetrator of the attack on a Kurdish wedding in the city of Gaziantep which […]

Washington condemns Turkey wedding bombing

WASWHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Sunday blasted the “heinous” suicide bombing that killed 51 people in Turkey, and offered its assistance to Ankara in the fight against “the scourge of terrorism.” “The United States strongly condemns yesterday’s heinous attack,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement. “We extend heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of the victims and we wish a full and speedy recovery for the many […]

After coup bid, Erdogan seeks to ride national unity wave

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – by Stuart WILLIAMS One nation. One flag. One homeland. One state. These eight words have been the key slogan of Turkish politics in the last years, strongly favoured by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a symbol of national unity. But in the months before the July 15 failed military coup, there had been precious little such unity in Turkey with the southeast riven by conflict, the opposition in a constant war […]

Erdogan says if people want death penalty parties will abide

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — If the Turkish public want the death penalty following last month’s failed coup then political parties will follow their will, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday. “If the nation makes such a decision (in support of death penalty), I believe political parties will abide by this decision,” Erdogan said during a unity rally in Yenikapi square in the touristic Sultanahmet district. “It is the Turkish […]

Turkey issues arrest warrants for 100 staff at Ankara hospital: official

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) – Turkey on Tuesday issued arrest warrants for 100 staff, including doctors, at the main military hospital in Ankara as part of an investigation into last month’s failed coup, a Turkish official and reports said. Police were searching the Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GATA) hospital in the capital, the private NTV television reported. It was not immediately clear if any suspects had been detained. The Turkish official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed […]

Turkey reshuffles military after half of generals fired

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) by Stuart WILLIAMS Raziye AKKOC Turkey’s top military commanders met Thursday to replace almost half of their generals in a radical shake-up after the failed coup, as authorities shut down dozens of media outlets in a widening crackdown. The hastily-convened meeting came after the government ordered the discharge of 149 generals — nearly half of the armed forces’ entire contingent of 358 — for alleged complicity in the putsch bid. Separately, a total […]

Erdogan declares 3-month state of emergency in Turkey

by Stuart WILLIAMS with Fulya OZERKAN and Frank ZELLER in Istanbul ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday declared a three-month state of emergency, vowing to hunt down the “terrorist” group behind last week’s bloody coup attempt. He has accused followers of his arch-enemy, US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, of being behind the coup, which has led to a wave of some 50,000 arrests and sackings of suspected conspirators. The state of […]

Global alarm grows as 50,000 hit by Turkey purge

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) –  by Stuart WILLIAMS with Fulya OZERKAN in Istanbul Turkey faced fresh accusations it was flouting the rule of law with its purge of 50,000 people after an attempted coup, as the president gathered security chiefs Wednesday for the first time since the putsch. Authorities have rounded up or sacked tens of thousands of police, judges, teachers and other civil servants from across the state bureaucracy in the aftermath of Friday’s failed […]