Idomeni, Greece (AFP)—Greek police on Tuesday transferred some two thousand migrants out of the overcrowded camp of Idomeni, launching a major operation to clear up the squalid tent city where thousands fleeing war and poverty have lived for months. The operation began at dawn, and by evening officials said they had put 2,031 people on buses to newly opened camps near Greece’s second city Thessaloniki, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) to the south. “The operation […]
Tag: Turkey
Turkey kills almost 900 IS members in Syria raids: report
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey has killed almost 900 alleged members of the Islamic State (IS) group since January through artillery fire and air raids, the state-run Anatolia news agency said Monday, citing military sources. The country, a member of a US-led coalition fighting IS, has killed 492 “terrorists” since January 9 in air raids, while another 370 were killed in artillery strikes which also destroyed arms depots, the agency said. These figures could not be […]
Tensions over migrant deal as Merkel, EU officials head to Turkey on Saturday
Istanbul, Turkey (AFP)— Angela Merkel and top European Union officials travel to Turkey on Saturday for a high-stakes visit which will see them walk a diplomatic tightrope between keeping Ankara sweet over a crucial migrant deal and taking a stand on European values. European Council head Donald Tusk, European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans and the German chancellor will visit a refugee camp at 1100 GMT in Gaziantep on the Turkish-Syrian border. They hope to […]
Blast rocks busy street in Turkey
Istanbul, Turkey (AFP)—An explosion rocked a busy shopping street in the heart of Istanbul early on Saturday, Turkish media reported. The cause of the blast on Istiklal Caddesi street was unknown. Ambulances rushed to the scene, Dogan news agency reported. © 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse
All eyes on Syria as ceasefire deadline looms
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — US President Barack Obama warned Russia and Damacus that the “world will be watching”, hours before a partial truce was due to come into force in war-torn Syria on Saturday. Obama said “the coming days will be critical” for the ceasefire brokered by Moscow and Washington, and agreed to by both President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and Syria’s top opposition grouping. The deal — which excludes the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group and […]
EU and Turkey to hold ‘special meeting’ on migration early March: Tusk
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) — The EU and Turkey will hold a “special meeting” in early March to push forward an aid-for-cooperation deal to curb migrant flows to Europe, European Council President Donald Tusk said Friday. “We agreed that our joint action plan with Turkey remains a priority and we must do all we can to succeed,” Tusk told a press conference after the first day of a European Union summit in Brussels. “This is why […]
Turkey blames Syrian Kurdish fighters for Ankara attack
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkey on Thursday blamed Kurdish militants based inside the country and in Syria for a car bombing targeting a military convoy in Ankara that killed 28 people and risked a new escalation of the Syrian conflict. The massive blast struck five buses carrying military service personnel when they stopped at a traffic light in the center of the capital on Wednesday evening. It was the latest in a string of deadly strikes that […]
500 rebels cross Turkish border towards Syrian town of Azaz: Observatory
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) — At least 500 rebels on Wednesday crossed the Turkish border heading for the Syrian town of Azaz in northern Aleppo province, a monitor said, where opposition forces have suffered setbacks at the hands of Kurdish forces. “At least 500 rebels have crossed the Bab al-Salam border crossing on their way to the town of Azaz, from which they want to help the insurgents in the face of gains made by Kurdish […]
Panic and horror strike again in Turkey’s jittery capital
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — It started with a rumble that sounded like thunder or an earthquake, sending startled residents rushing to their balconies, who watched in horror as plumes of smoke rose over central Ankara. It wasn’t long before their worst fears were confirmed: Turkey’s capital, still reeling from twin blasts that killed over 100 last year, had been hit again. Sirens blaring, ambulances and police cars raced to the scene of the explosion […]
Car bomb kills at least 28 in Ankara
ANKARA, Turkey (CCTV/Reuters) — A car bomb attack killed at least 28 people in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Wednesday night. The explosion, which targeted an army convoy, also injured at least 61 people, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said at a press conference after the attack. A local resident named Noury was only 300 meters away from the explosion site when the bomb went off, having driven past just 20 seconds earlier. […]
UN sends aid to Syria as Turkey calls for ground operation
by Stuart Williams DAMASCUS, Syria (AFP) — UN convoys delivering aid to thousands of besieged Syrians were due to set out on Wednesday, but hopes for lasting peace dimmed the day after Turkey called for a ground operation in its war-torn neighbor. Syria’s government has approved access to seven besieged areas, including the city of Madaya where dozens of people are thought to have died from starvation, a spokeswoman for the UN’s humanitarian affairs office […]
Turkey’s Erdogan lambasts US over support for Syrian Kurds
ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday bitterly attacked ally the United States over its support for Syrian Kurdish groups, as they seized an airport near Aleppo and sought to build ties with Russia. In an impassioned and sometimes angry address, Erdogan accused Washington of creating a “pool of blood” in the region by working with Kurdish groups Ankara lists as terror organisations. The US has been supporting Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union […]





