Ankara is contending with aftermath of New Year’s assault in Istanbul
The Wall Street Journal
By EMRE PEKER
Updated Jan. 4, 2017 4:26 a.m. ET
ISTANBUL—Turkey’s parliament voted to extend the government’s state-of-emergency powers following the deadly New Year’s attack claimed by Islamic State, as the country struggles to contain rising terrorist threats and law enforcement contends with depleted ranks in the wake of last year’s failed coup.
The gunman remains at large after the assault that killed at least 39 people, although Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said authorities had identified the man, without providing details, according to the Anadolu state news agency. There is little information about the gunman’s identity beyond photographs of a suspect released by authorities.
Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Germany’s Merkel Says Full Force of Law to Bear in Berlin Attacks
by Patrick Donahue
December 2016, 1:12 μ.μ. EET
Chancellor Angela Merkel said that German authorities were working on the assumption that the deaths of 12 people after a truck plowed into a Christmas market were a terrorist attack, and pledged to use the full force of German law to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a nationally televised statement in Berlin, Merkel said that people across Germany were mourning after the “horrific and unimaginable” deaths and injuries sustained in the capital on Monday evening. She said she planned to tour the scene of the attack later on Tuesday.
December 2016, 1:12 μ.μ. EET
- Germans in mourning after ‘horrific and unimaginable’ attack
- Anti-immigration AfD party lays blame at Merkel’s door
Chancellor Angela Merkel said that German authorities were working on the assumption that the deaths of 12 people after a truck plowed into a Christmas market were a terrorist attack, and pledged to use the full force of German law to bring the perpetrators to justice.
In a nationally televised statement in Berlin, Merkel said that people across Germany were mourning after the “horrific and unimaginable” deaths and injuries sustained in the capital on Monday evening. She said she planned to tour the scene of the attack later on Tuesday.
Russian Ambassador Killed in Turkey by Gunman Invoking Syria
by Benjamin Harvey and Selcan Hacaoglu
20 December 2016, 6:35 π.μ. EET
Bloomberg
Russia’s ambassador was shot dead in the Turkish capital on Monday in an assassination apparently linked to Syria’s civil war, heightening tensions over a conflict that’s drawn in almost all the region’s main powers.
Andrey Karlov was shot in the back at an art exhibit in Ankara on Monday and died from his injuries, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. “Allahu akbar,” the gunman shouted, and then “don’t forget Aleppo” -- a reference to the Syrian city where mostly Islamist rebels have been defeated this month by Russian-backed government troops. The attacker, who was killed by security forces, was a 22-year-old active-duty police officer. His possible connection with organized groups is being probed, Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.
20 December 2016, 6:35 π.μ. EET
Bloomberg
Russia’s ambassador was shot dead in the Turkish capital on Monday in an assassination apparently linked to Syria’s civil war, heightening tensions over a conflict that’s drawn in almost all the region’s main powers.
Andrey Karlov was shot in the back at an art exhibit in Ankara on Monday and died from his injuries, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. “Allahu akbar,” the gunman shouted, and then “don’t forget Aleppo” -- a reference to the Syrian city where mostly Islamist rebels have been defeated this month by Russian-backed government troops. The attacker, who was killed by security forces, was a 22-year-old active-duty police officer. His possible connection with organized groups is being probed, Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said.
Monday, December 5, 2016
Fearing abandonment by Trump, CIA-backed rebels in Syria mull alternatives
The Washington Post
By Karen DeYoung and Louisa Loveluck December 3 at 6:03 PM
Three years after the CIA began secretly shipping lethal aid to rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, battlefield losses and fears that a Donald Trump administration will abandon them have left tens of thousands of opposition fighters weighing their alternatives.
Among the options, say U.S. officials, regional experts and the rebels themselves, are a closer alliance with better-armed al-Qaeda and other extremist groups, receipt of more sophisticated weaponry from Sunni states in the Persian Gulf region opposed to a U.S. pullback, and adoption of more traditional guerrilla tactics, including sniper and other small-scale attacks on both Syrian and Russian targets.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
U.S. says foreign forces in Iraq should be there with Baghdad's approval
Tue Oct 11, 2016 | 4:36pm EDT
Reuters
Foreign military forces in Iraq should be there with the approval of the Baghdad government and under the umbrella of the anti-Islamic State coalition, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.
Turkey and Iraq disagree over the presence of about 2,000 Turkish troops at a base in northern Iraq, as the coalition prepares for an attack on the Islamic State-held city of Mosul.
Reuters
Foreign military forces in Iraq should be there with the approval of the Baghdad government and under the umbrella of the anti-Islamic State coalition, the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday.
Turkey and Iraq disagree over the presence of about 2,000 Turkish troops at a base in northern Iraq, as the coalition prepares for an attack on the Islamic State-held city of Mosul.
Monday, September 5, 2016
U.S., Russia not yet eye-to-eye on possible resumption of Syrian cease-fire
The Washington Post
By William Wan, Karen DeYoung and Liz Sly September 4 at 2:05 PM
HANGZHOU, China— Efforts by the United States and Russia to forge a deal for a cease-fire in Syria and to coordinate their counterterrorism operations there faltered again Sunday, even as a major new Syrian-Russian offensive in the besieged city of Aleppo appeared to undermine key components of the proposed agreement.
After an anticipated news conference did not take place, Secretary of State John F. Kerry told reporters that his negotiations here with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov snagged on “a couple of tough issues” — nearly identical to the language he used when the two failed to reach agreement in their last meeting, just over a week ago in Geneva. Officials said they would meet again Monday.
By William Wan, Karen DeYoung and Liz Sly September 4 at 2:05 PM
HANGZHOU, China— Efforts by the United States and Russia to forge a deal for a cease-fire in Syria and to coordinate their counterterrorism operations there faltered again Sunday, even as a major new Syrian-Russian offensive in the besieged city of Aleppo appeared to undermine key components of the proposed agreement.
After an anticipated news conference did not take place, Secretary of State John F. Kerry told reporters that his negotiations here with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov snagged on “a couple of tough issues” — nearly identical to the language he used when the two failed to reach agreement in their last meeting, just over a week ago in Geneva. Officials said they would meet again Monday.
Thursday, September 1, 2016
Syria war: Turkey hits out at US over Kurds comments
31 August 2016
BBC
Turkey has hit out at the United States over criticism of its ongoing role in the conflict in Syria.
Turkish forces have targeted so-called Islamic State (IS) inside Syria, but have also gone after Kurdish fighters in the same region.
The pursuit of Kurdish forces, whom Ankara considers terrorists, has led to criticism by the United States.
BBC
Turkey has hit out at the United States over criticism of its ongoing role in the conflict in Syria.
Turkish forces have targeted so-called Islamic State (IS) inside Syria, but have also gone after Kurdish fighters in the same region.
The pursuit of Kurdish forces, whom Ankara considers terrorists, has led to criticism by the United States.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Turkish Military Begins Major Offensive Into Syria in Fight Against ISIS
By TIM ARANGO and CEYLAN YEGINSUAUG. 24, 2016
The New York Times
ISTANBUL — Turkey mounted its largest military effort yet in the Syrian conflict on Wednesday, sending tanks, warplanes and special operations forces over the border in a United States-backed drive to capture an Islamic State stronghold in Syria.
The joint offensive on the city of Jarabulus, one of the last border strongholds of the Islamic State, began hours before Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, the Turkish capital. The timing seemed aimed at easing tensions between the two countries raised by the failed coup in Turkey last month.
The New York Times
ISTANBUL — Turkey mounted its largest military effort yet in the Syrian conflict on Wednesday, sending tanks, warplanes and special operations forces over the border in a United States-backed drive to capture an Islamic State stronghold in Syria.
The joint offensive on the city of Jarabulus, one of the last border strongholds of the Islamic State, began hours before Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, the Turkish capital. The timing seemed aimed at easing tensions between the two countries raised by the failed coup in Turkey last month.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Greece Returns 12 Syrians to Turkey; Will Build 4 More Camps
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
APRIL 27, 2016, 10:54 A.M. E.D.T.
The New York Times
ATHENS, Greece — Greece on Wednesday returned 12 Syrians, including a woman and her four children, to Turkey as part of a European Union-Turkey agreement aiming to stop the flow of refugees and migrants across the Aegean to Europe's more prosperous heartland.
The 12 were flown from the Greek island of Lesbos to Adana in Turkey by a plane chartered by the European border agency Frontex, Greece's citizens' protection ministry said, noting all had expressed the wish to return and none had applied for asylum in Greece.
Under last month's EU-Turkey deal, people arriving clandestinely on Greek islands from Turkey from March 20 onward face being returned unless they successfully apply for asylum in Greece. So far, 386 people have been returned under the deal, Greece says.
APRIL 27, 2016, 10:54 A.M. E.D.T.
The New York Times
ATHENS, Greece — Greece on Wednesday returned 12 Syrians, including a woman and her four children, to Turkey as part of a European Union-Turkey agreement aiming to stop the flow of refugees and migrants across the Aegean to Europe's more prosperous heartland.
The 12 were flown from the Greek island of Lesbos to Adana in Turkey by a plane chartered by the European border agency Frontex, Greece's citizens' protection ministry said, noting all had expressed the wish to return and none had applied for asylum in Greece.
Under last month's EU-Turkey deal, people arriving clandestinely on Greek islands from Turkey from March 20 onward face being returned unless they successfully apply for asylum in Greece. So far, 386 people have been returned under the deal, Greece says.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Islam, interment and Greece
Burying drowned migrants is part of a broader Greek problem
Apr 20th 2016, 12:55 BY M.TZ. AND ERASMUS | MYTILENE
Timekeeper
The Economist
THE newly established graveyard, a short drive west of Mytilene port, is a desperately sad place. In the middle of an olive grove, there are dozens of mounds of crumbly earth, some created only a month ago, with markers offering perfunctory information about the people who lie underneath: a name, a date of death or discovery and a date of interment. Sometimes the name is not known.
Thursday, April 14, 2016
ISIS Expands Reach Despite Military and Financial Setbacks
By MATTHEW ROSENBERG, HELENE COOPER and NICHOLAS KULISHAPRIL 12, 2016
The New York Times
WASHINGTON — American airstrikes have killed 25,000 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and incinerated millions of dollars plundered by the militants, according to Pentagon officials.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces have taken back 40 percent of the militant group’s land in Iraq, the officials say, and forces backed by the West have seized a sizable amount of territory in Syria that had been controlled by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
But the battlefield successes enjoyed by Western-backed forces in the Islamic State’s heartland have done little to stop the expansion of the militants to Europe, North Africa and Afghanistan. The attacks this year in Brussels, Istanbul and other cities only reinforced the sense of a terrorist group on the march, and among American officials and military experts, there is renewed caution in predicting progress in a fight that they say is likely to go on for years.
The New York Times
WASHINGTON — American airstrikes have killed 25,000 Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria and incinerated millions of dollars plundered by the militants, according to Pentagon officials.
Iraqi and Kurdish forces have taken back 40 percent of the militant group’s land in Iraq, the officials say, and forces backed by the West have seized a sizable amount of territory in Syria that had been controlled by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
But the battlefield successes enjoyed by Western-backed forces in the Islamic State’s heartland have done little to stop the expansion of the militants to Europe, North Africa and Afghanistan. The attacks this year in Brussels, Istanbul and other cities only reinforced the sense of a terrorist group on the march, and among American officials and military experts, there is renewed caution in predicting progress in a fight that they say is likely to go on for years.
Saturday, April 2, 2016
Protests Against Migrants' Presence in Greece and Turkey
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSAPRIL 2, 2016, 12:30 P.M. E.D.T.
The New York Times
IDOMENI, Greece — 'Anti-migrants protesters staged demonstrations in Turkey and Greece against the plan to send back migrants from Greece to Turkey is set to be implemented starting Monday.
At the same time, migrants stranded at a makeshift camp in this small town on Greece's border with Macedonia staged a protest demanding that the border be opened and that they be allowed to continue their journeys to central and northern Europe.
Several dozen people living in the Idomeni camp staged a protest Saturday morning, blocking a local road for about an hour to demand the evacuation of more than 11,000 stranded migrants to "transit centers" across the Greek mainland.
The New York Times
IDOMENI, Greece — 'Anti-migrants protesters staged demonstrations in Turkey and Greece against the plan to send back migrants from Greece to Turkey is set to be implemented starting Monday.
At the same time, migrants stranded at a makeshift camp in this small town on Greece's border with Macedonia staged a protest demanding that the border be opened and that they be allowed to continue their journeys to central and northern Europe.
Several dozen people living in the Idomeni camp staged a protest Saturday morning, blocking a local road for about an hour to demand the evacuation of more than 11,000 stranded migrants to "transit centers" across the Greek mainland.
Friday, April 1, 2016
A Syrian Refugee’s Message to the European Union
We fled war to find safety with our families. Why is the E.U. making our lives more miserable?
By LAILA
MARCH 31, 2016
The New York Times
IDOMENI, Greece — WHEN we first got here we had money to buy a little food. Now it’s gone. We stand in line for hours for a sandwich. My husband told a journalist recently: “People are fed up. Maybe tomorrow they will break down the gate and flood across the border.” The journalist said, “How many weapons do you have?” If we knew how to carry weapons or wanted to carry weapons we would not have fled Syria. We want peace. We are sick of killing.
We fled a war, and now the European Union is making war against us, a psychological war. When we hear rumors that we’ll be let into Europe, we celebrate. These leaders give us new hope, then they extinguish it. Why did you open the door to refugees? Why did you welcome people? If they had stopped it before, we would not have come. We would not have risked death, me and my children, and thousands of others, to make the crossing.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Mission accomplished? Russia to withdraw troops from Syria on Tuesday
Holly Yan-Profile-Image
By Holly Yan, CNN
Updated 0647 GMT (1447 HKT) March 15, 2016
(CNN)Russia's bombing blitz in Syria will end today, leaving behind both significant destruction and a Syrian regime to largely fend for itself.
The surprise announcement by Russia on Monday came as suddenly as the airstrike campaign started last September.
"The task that was assigned to the Ministry of Defense and the armed forces as a whole has achieved its goal," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
But Russia's stated goal -- fighting terrorists like ISIS in Syria -- didn't match the reality on the ground, critics say. They point to the bombings of civilian areas as reason to believe Russia is actually helping its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, eliminate his opposition.
Close allies
Russia has both economic and ideological reasons to support the Syrian regime, even as many other countries blame Assad for the deaths of thousands of dissidents.
By Holly Yan, CNN
Updated 0647 GMT (1447 HKT) March 15, 2016
(CNN)Russia's bombing blitz in Syria will end today, leaving behind both significant destruction and a Syrian regime to largely fend for itself.
The surprise announcement by Russia on Monday came as suddenly as the airstrike campaign started last September.
"The task that was assigned to the Ministry of Defense and the armed forces as a whole has achieved its goal," Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
But Russia's stated goal -- fighting terrorists like ISIS in Syria -- didn't match the reality on the ground, critics say. They point to the bombings of civilian areas as reason to believe Russia is actually helping its ally, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, eliminate his opposition.
Close allies
Russia has both economic and ideological reasons to support the Syrian regime, even as many other countries blame Assad for the deaths of thousands of dissidents.
U.S. confirms death of ISIS operative Omar al-Shishani
Barbara Starr-Profile-Image
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Updated 2224 GMT (0624 HKT) March 14, 2016
CNN International
Washington (CNN)Two U.S. officials told CNN that the Obama administration has confirmed that ISIS senior operative Omar al-Shishani is dead.
The officials said he was injured in a U.S. airstrike last week and then died subsequently, though they wouldn't say how they know he is dead.
The initial U.S. assessment was that he was "likely killed" in the strike, but further assessments led them to understand he had been injured and only later died.
He was killed along with 12 additional ISIS fighters in a wave of strikes by drones and manned aircraft.
Since then, CNN has learned that Shishani was at a "shura," or meeting with other officials, at the time of the strike. U.S. officials had emphasized at the time it was publicly announced that they were not certain of his death and were assessing whether the strike killed him.
By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
Updated 2224 GMT (0624 HKT) March 14, 2016
CNN International
Washington (CNN)Two U.S. officials told CNN that the Obama administration has confirmed that ISIS senior operative Omar al-Shishani is dead.
The officials said he was injured in a U.S. airstrike last week and then died subsequently, though they wouldn't say how they know he is dead.
The initial U.S. assessment was that he was "likely killed" in the strike, but further assessments led them to understand he had been injured and only later died.
He was killed along with 12 additional ISIS fighters in a wave of strikes by drones and manned aircraft.
Since then, CNN has learned that Shishani was at a "shura," or meeting with other officials, at the time of the strike. U.S. officials had emphasized at the time it was publicly announced that they were not certain of his death and were assessing whether the strike killed him.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Truce halts most Syria fighting; Russia stops flights
Sat Feb 27, 2016 7:48am EST Related: WORLD, UNITED NATIONS, SYRIA
BEIRUT | BY TOM PERRY AND MARIAM KAROUNY
Reuters
Fighting mostly stopped across western and northern Syria on Saturday and Russia halted its air raids, under a cessation of hostilities which the United Nations called the best hope for peace since civil war began five years ago.
Under the U.S.-Russian accord accepted by President Bashar al-Assad's government and many of his enemies, fighting should cease so aid can reach civilians and talks can open to end a war that has killed more than 250,000 people and made 11 million homeless.
Russia, which says it intends to continue strikes against areas held by Islamist fighters that are not covered by the truce, said it would suspend all flights over Syria for the day on Saturday to ensure no wrong targets were hit by mistake.
BEIRUT | BY TOM PERRY AND MARIAM KAROUNY
Reuters
Fighting mostly stopped across western and northern Syria on Saturday and Russia halted its air raids, under a cessation of hostilities which the United Nations called the best hope for peace since civil war began five years ago.
Under the U.S.-Russian accord accepted by President Bashar al-Assad's government and many of his enemies, fighting should cease so aid can reach civilians and talks can open to end a war that has killed more than 250,000 people and made 11 million homeless.
Russia, which says it intends to continue strikes against areas held by Islamist fighters that are not covered by the truce, said it would suspend all flights over Syria for the day on Saturday to ensure no wrong targets were hit by mistake.
The Russia-Armenia alliance is threatening Turkey, a critical U.S. ally
The Washington Post
February 26 at 5:35 PM
The Feb. 21 front-page article “For Turkey, high stakes as troubles intensify” highlighted a critical development: The growing military alliance between Russia and Armenia is threatening Turkey, an indispensable U.S. ally and partner in the fight against the Islamic State.
February 26 at 5:35 PM
The Feb. 21 front-page article “For Turkey, high stakes as troubles intensify” highlighted a critical development: The growing military alliance between Russia and Armenia is threatening Turkey, an indispensable U.S. ally and partner in the fight against the Islamic State.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Questions Linger Over Russia’s Endgame in Syria, Ukraine and Europe
By NEIL MacFARQUHARFEB. 23, 2016
The New York Times
MOSCOW — The partial truce that Russia and the United States have thrashed out in Syria capped something of a foreign policy trifecta for President Vladimir V. Putin, with the Kremlin strong-arming itself into a pivotal role in the Middle East, Ukraine floundering and the European Union developing cracks like a badly glazed pot.
Beyond what could well be a high point for Mr. Putin, however, lingering questions about Russia’s endgame arise in all three directions.
The New York Times
MOSCOW — The partial truce that Russia and the United States have thrashed out in Syria capped something of a foreign policy trifecta for President Vladimir V. Putin, with the Kremlin strong-arming itself into a pivotal role in the Middle East, Ukraine floundering and the European Union developing cracks like a badly glazed pot.
Beyond what could well be a high point for Mr. Putin, however, lingering questions about Russia’s endgame arise in all three directions.
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Turkey’s increasingly desperate predicament poses real dangers
The Washington Post
By Liz Sly February 20 at 7:09 PM
ISTANBUL — Turkey is confronting what amounts to a strategic nightmare as bombs explode in its cities, its enemies encroach on its borders and its allies seemingly snub its demands.
As recently as four years ago, Turkey appeared poised to become one of the biggest winners of the Arab Spring, an ascendant power hailed by the West as a model and embraced by a region seeking new patrons and new forms of governance.
All that has evaporated since the failure of the Arab revolts, shifts in the geopolitical landscape and the trajectory of the Syrian war.
By Liz Sly February 20 at 7:09 PM
ISTANBUL — Turkey is confronting what amounts to a strategic nightmare as bombs explode in its cities, its enemies encroach on its borders and its allies seemingly snub its demands.
As recently as four years ago, Turkey appeared poised to become one of the biggest winners of the Arab Spring, an ascendant power hailed by the West as a model and embraced by a region seeking new patrons and new forms of governance.
All that has evaporated since the failure of the Arab revolts, shifts in the geopolitical landscape and the trajectory of the Syrian war.
What Russia's Failing Economy Means For Putin's Legacy And Military Ambitions
The WorldPost spoke with Sergey Aleksahenko, former deputy chairman of the Russian Central Bank.
02/20/2016 08:01 am ET | Updated 2 hours ago
THe Huffington Post
The World Post
Alexandra Ma
Editorial Fellow, The Huffington Post
Russia is in the middle of its worst economic crisis since 2008.
The country's economic output declined by 3.7 percent in 2015 and is projected to decrease by a further 1 percent in 2016, according to International Monetary Fund estimates published in January. Inflation soared to 15.4 percent in 2015, compared with 7.8 percent in 2014.
The decline is partly the result of the international sanctions imposed following Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. Large trade and investment partners, including the European Union and the United States, cut off Russia's access to foreign loans and capital markets and froze assets belonging to high-level Russians.
02/20/2016 08:01 am ET | Updated 2 hours ago
THe Huffington Post
The World Post
Alexandra Ma
Editorial Fellow, The Huffington Post
Russia is in the middle of its worst economic crisis since 2008.
The country's economic output declined by 3.7 percent in 2015 and is projected to decrease by a further 1 percent in 2016, according to International Monetary Fund estimates published in January. Inflation soared to 15.4 percent in 2015, compared with 7.8 percent in 2014.
The decline is partly the result of the international sanctions imposed following Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. Large trade and investment partners, including the European Union and the United States, cut off Russia's access to foreign loans and capital markets and froze assets belonging to high-level Russians.
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