Animosity toward Iran reaches fever pitch in Turkey after Aleppo
Agitation against predominantly Shiite Iran by Sunni Islamists has resulted in calls for attacks on Turkey’s Alevis for vengeance.
The “fall” of Aleppo has left the staunchly Sunni Islamist support base of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkey with a deep sense of defeatism and resentment, and it has even prompted calls for revenge to be wreaked on Turkish Alevis.
Delays over the Turkish-Russian brokered evacuation of Aleppo, and attacks on buses carrying the refugees, reportedly by Iranian-backed Shiite militias, have merely increased the hatred for Iran.
In contrast with this is the discernible attempt to keep Russia out of the line of fire of this loathing, no doubt because Erdogan and the AKP set great store in ties with Moscow in order to counterbalance Turkey’s deteriorating ties with the West.
The fact that Ankara has been noticeably mute over Russian involvement in the defeat of rebel fighters in Aleppo, and all the atrocities this has entailed, does not sit well with all of Erdogan’s supporters. The general tone toward Russia among these supporters has nevertheless been one of restraint.
