Turkish officials say security forces killed 15 rebel Kurds, all of them women, during clashes Saturday in the country’s southeast. The Interior Ministry says the fighting between security forces and members of the Turkish rebel group the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, took place in a rural part of the mainly Kurdish province of Bitlis. […]
Turkish Forces Kill 15 Women Kurd Rebels
Turkey Releases 4 Journalists in Coup Plot Trial
A Turkish court has released four prominent journalists pending trial on accusations they were involved in a conspiracy to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Among the four released Monday by the court in Istanbul are Nedim Sener and Ahmet Sik, two well-known investigative journalists, who spent more than a year in […]
Turkish Airlines Begins Flights to Somalia
Turkish Airlines has started flights to Somalia’s capital, making it the first commercial carrier outside East Africa to fly there in more than two decades. Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bosdag took the maiden flight from Turkey’s Ataturk airport into Mogadishu on Tuesday. After arriving in the conflict-ridden capital, Bosdag said Turkish Airlines has provided […]
Bomb Explodes Near Offices of Turkey’s Ruling Party Injuring at Least 10 Police Officers
Turkish officials say a remote controlled bomb exploded near the offices of the country’s ruling party in Istanbul Thursday, injuring at least 16 people, mostly police officers. Police chief said explosives mounted on a stationary motorcycle were detonated when a bus carrying 21 police officers drove by early Thursday. State-run television showed pictures of ambulances […]
Bomb Explodes Near Offices of Turkey’s Ruling Party
Turkish police and media say a bomb has exploded near the offices of the country’s ruling party in Istanbul. The chief of Istanbul’s police department was quoted saying several police officers were injured in the explosion early Thursday. State-run television showed pictures of ambulances and fire engines rushing to the scene outside the offices of […]
Top French Court Throws Out Armenian Genocide Law
France’s top court has ruled that a controversial law making it a crime to deny the Armenian genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks is unconstitutional. The Constitutional Council wrote that the law violates freedom of expression. French President Nicloas Sarkozy, who strongly supports the law, says he is disappointed. But he says he will […]
China’s VP, Turkish President Discuss Trade, Syria
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping is in Turkey for three days of talks on bilateral and regional issues, but the ongoing fighting in Syria topped the agenda. Ahead of Xi’s meeting with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayiip Erdogan in Ankara Tuesday, dozens of activists from China’s Muslim Uighur minority protested near the […]
Kurds Mark 13th Anniversary of PKK Founder’s Capture
Kurds in parts of southeastern Turkey have marked the 13th anniversary of the capture of former Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan with protests and business closures. Supporters of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party threw Molotov cocktails at the police in the mostly Kurdish city of Hakkari, in a show of support for Ocalan. Police used […]
Turkish Court To Try Top General
Turkey’s former army chief will be tried for an alleged plot to topple the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A Turkish court determined Wednesday that there is sufficient evidence to prosecute former general Ilker Basbug in an alleged Internet campaign aimed at destabilizing Mr. Erdogan’s Islamic-based government. The former general will be tried […]
Turkish Police Target Alleged Backers of Kurdish Rebel Group
Turkish news reports say police have launched a nationwide crackdown on union leaders and activists with alleged links to an outlawed Kurdish rebel group in the country’s southeast. The Anatolia news agency said more than 100 people were detained in simultaneous raids on at least 20 Turkish towns and cities. At least 10 of the […]