Mass Suspensions of Teachers Stoke Concern in Turkey’s Kurdish Region
Educators in Turkey are at the center of a crackdown, with more than 12,000 teachers suspended for alleged links to the Kurdish PKK rebel group. “At a very early hour in the morning, police came banging on my door,” one teacher said of the intimidating tactics employed. “They violently entered and told me that there […]
Battle for Mosul: Turkey-Iraq row over ISIL operation
Ongoing tensions between Turkey and Iraq have intensified after Turkey said its troops fired artillery rounds at ISIL targets near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, following a request by Kurdish Peshmerga forces. Binali Yildirim, Turkish prime minister, said on Sunday that Turkish troops stationed outside Mosul had provided support “with artillery, tanks and howitzers” […]
Turkey suspends 13,000 police over ‘Gulen links’
Turkey has suspended almost 13,000 police officers – more than five percent of the country’s entire police force – over suspected links to Fethullah Gulen, a US-based cleric blamed by Ankara for orchestrating a failed coup attempt. In a brief statement, the Turkish police headquarters said that 2,523 of the 12,801 suspended were police chiefs. […]
Turkey allows policewomen to wear headscarves
Turkey has for the first time allowed policewomen to wear headscarves while on duty as part of their uniform. Women serving in the police force “will be able to cover their heads” under their caps or berets so long as the headscarf is “the same colour as the uniform and without pattern”, said the ruling […]
22 killed, 94 injured in bomb attack at wedding in southern Turkey
Istanbul (dpa) – A bomb attack Saturday in southern Turkey killed 22 people and injured 94, the provincial governor’s office said in a statement, calling it a “terror attack.” The late night attack at an outdoor wedding ceremony in Gaziantep province was suspected to be a suicide bomber, officials said, with one member of parliament […]
Erdogan accuses US officials of siding with Turkey coup plotters
Some 99 military top brass have been promoted in Turkey in an overhaul of the country’s armed forces following this month’s failed coup. Many other men in uniform, accused of involvement in the uprising, have been dismissed or detained. The man at the top of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ‘wanted list’ is the US-based cleric […]