It was announced by the Turkish Government that there were 120,147 Syrians currently staying in Turkey after having escaped from clashes in their country. AFAD made a written statement on Friday saying Turkey had made available 5 tent cities in Hatay, 2 in Sanliurfa, 3 in Gaziantep and one each in Osmaniye, Kahramanmaras and Adiyaman and one container city in Kilis. AFAD also mentioned that Turkey took all ...

It was announced by Turkey's defense minister  that  the country's armed forces would respond to an airspace breach by Syrian aircrafts. Mr. Ismet YILMAZ said to reporters; "Military engagement rules established by our government are still valid. Required response will be given to Syrian planes or helicopters in case of violation of our airspace”. It is known that Syrian war planes undertake breaches of Tur ...

As the crisis in Syria does not take a break for a moment, involved parties keep trying to work out a solution to put an end to killings and turmoil in the region. Turkey is certainly the country with the most concerns as plenty of undesired casualties have been happening at the border between Syria and Turkey for quite a while. In addition to said efforts to bring a peaceful solution to the conflict, the O ...

It was reported that Davutoğlu had had a telephone conversation with Chinese FM Yang JIECHI to discuss views on Syria issue. China is known to be supporting Syria in the conflict prevailing in the ME region together with Russia and Iran - to be in the first place. It is reported that DAVUTOĞLU had briefed his counterpart about the most recent incidents in the region, to include Akçale event. Mr. Jiechi is r ...

The leaders of the rebel Free Syrian Army said today they have moved their command center from Turkey to Syria with the aim of uniting rebels and speeding up the fall of President Bashar Assad's regime. Brig. Gen. Mustafa al-Sheikh, who heads the FSA's Military Council, told The Associated Press that the group made the move last week. He would not say where the new headquarters is located. The FSA has been ...

A clear majority of Turks are against a military intervention to put a halt to the violence in Syria, according to a recent poll by the German Marshall Fund. Some 57 percent of Turkish respondents in the Transatlantic Trends survey categorically rejected a Turkish invasion after being asked: “Recently, there has been discussion of the desirability of intervening in Syria, where the government has been using ...

The unrest in the Middle East and Syria in specific seems to escalating each and every day in spite of all the (useless) efforts spent by UN officials to put and end to it. Syria, on the contrary to many predictions as to Assad would leave the country to give way to a new administration and regime (certainly) to take over the country has been resisting all the pressure from the SYRIAN ARMY OF FREEDOM (rebel ...

"The increased terror attacks in Turkey is the price for the country's support for the 'Syrian people,' according to Iraq's exiled vice president Tariq al-Hashemi. Escalation in the terrorist activities of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Turkey is to be expected, because of Turkey's allying itself with the Syrian people against the al-Assad regime, fugitive Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashem ...

The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency of Turkey (AFAD) has announced that as of yesterday, the number of Syrian refugees that are currently in Turkey seeking shelter is 78,409. This in effect means that the number of Syria refugees in Turkey is nearing the 100,000 figure, which is considered to be the point that when reached will necessitate the setting up of a buffer zone AFAD released a written ...

Washington and Ankara sit down for an ‘operational planning’ meeting to discuss aid options amid their continued bid to overthrow Syria’s government FM Davutoğlu says Turkey can handle no more than 100,000 Syrian refugees. AP photoWith clashes between Syrian security forces and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) intensifying, senior Turkish and American officials met yesterday in a first “operational planning” meet ...

Turkey says it can take no more than 100,000 Syrian refugees Turkey cannot handle more than 100,000 Syrian refugees and instead proposes a UN buffer zone inside Syria to shelter them, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in remarks published Monday. "If the number of refugees increases to 100,000, we will not be able to shelter them in Turkey. We have to welcome them in Syrian territory" under UN a ...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Istanbul for talks on the Syrian conflict on Saturday as fighting for control of the strategic city of Aleppo raged just 50 kilometres (30 miles) from Turkey's southern border. Clinton was to discuss with Turkish leaders boosting support for the Syrian opposition after Washington gave up on securing action at the UN Security Council against President Bashar al-As ...

Erdoğan held a telephone conversation with U.S. President Obama to discuss the recent developments in Syria. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan made a telephone call to United States' President Barack Obama yesterday to discuss the current developments in Syria. The 36-minute conversation was the first time the two had spoken since meeting in Mexico on June 19th. During the critical discussion, transpiring just ...

Main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu recently criticized the government's stance on Syria, saying Turkey is now "a country in trouble." "We do not want our people to pay the price for Western interests," Kılıçdaroğlu said. "We do not want Turkey to be dragged into the swamp." "In summary, we do not want war," he added. Kılıçdaroğlu likened the AKP's stance to "shooting someone else's bird with someone ...

Turkey sent batteries of ground-to-air missiles to the border with Syria on Sunday, media reports said, boosting its firepower as rebels in Syria seized several border posts.  As fighting raged in Damascus and Aleppo, rebels were said to have taken control of three crossing points on the border with Turkey, which is sheltering thousands of Syrians who have fled the conflict at home. A train convoy carrying ...

During the Erdoğan-Putin meeting in Moscow, the Turkish party proposed an election government system reminiscent of what transpired in Egypt. The members of this government would consist of members of the party in power that have not been involved with the violence, opposition members, military staff as well as non-partisans. The wind is changing direction for Russia the biggest supporters of Syria's Baath ...

Turkey and Syria’s other neighbors look on warily as rebels take over a number of border posts amid violence around the country following a July 18 bombing Forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad have been left in control of only one of Syria’s eight border gates with Turkey after losing control of the others in pitched battles with rebels July 20, according to a Turkish official. Rebels started gaining control of ...

Differences of opinion on how to approach Syria should not cast a cloud over Turkish-Russian ties, Turkish sources have said ahead of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s key visit to Moscow today. Although Erdoğan is expected to attempt to convince Russian President Vladimir Putin to drop its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Ankara is confident that the divergence of views on the Syr ...

A suicide bombing which killed members of President Bashar al-Assad’s inner circle has increased the urgency for tougher United Nations action says Western leaders, a stance rejected by Russia. British Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the suicide attack, and said it “confirms the urgent need for a Chapter 7 resolution of the U.N. Security Council on Syria.” U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan asked t ...

A Turkish jet was not downed by either anti-aircraft fire or a missile, separate army sources say as investigations into last month’s incident expand with new details A Turkish jet downed on June 22 was definitely not shot down by anti-aircraft fire as suggested by Syrian officials, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) said July 13, while also making clear once more that the jet was shot down by Syria. “In light ...

Assad accuses Turkey of aiding 'terrorists' Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad accused the United States of assisting "gangs"  and Turkey of aiding the Syrian rebels, in a rare interview with a western television channel aired on Sunday. "The United States is part of the conflict. They offer the umbrella and political support to those gangs to... destabilise Syria," Assad told German public broadcaster ARD. A ...

The world will see Turkey’s plan of action on Syria when the country puts it into practice, Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel said recently during an interview with daily Akşam's İsmail Küçükkaya.  "It's not like we will start a war," Özel said. "But we are following everything very closely. We have every capability of doing so."  Turkey will do "whatever great states do,” Özel added. Özel, however, r ...

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Friday called for greater pressure on Russia and China to push them to stop supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, as the minister joined a gathering of Western and Arab nations in Paris supporting the Syrian opposition. Davutoğlu, addressing the meeting of about 100 delegations from countries around the world and international organizations, also insisted ...