Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

July 4, 2026

Ankara 11:58 pm

21°C

A screenshot of one of Deniz Goktas' standup routines posted to YouTube.

Culture

Turkish standup comic detained after act calling Erdogan 'dictator' goes viral

Comedian Deniz Goktas’ arrest comes as Ankara intensifies prosecutions against opposition figures, journalists, artists and critics ahead of a major NATO summit.

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud speaks during the launch of an offshore energy exploration at the port in Mogadishu on April 10, 2026.

Turkish jets strike al-Shabab targets in Somalia: What to know

A Somali Defense Ministry statement initially said Turkish F-16s carried out strikes on Al-Shabab targets before a later version referred only to “international partners.”

Syrian textile employees work in a textile workshop in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Jan. 30, 2025.

Explainer

Turkey eases job rules for 1M+ Syrians under temporary protection: What to know

The move, part of a broader easing of restrictions on Syrians living in Turkey, could allow roughly 1.1 million working-age Syrians to enter registered employment more easily as Ankara seeks to reduce informal labor and address workforce gaps.

Latest News

Turkey, Azerbaijan slam Israel’s Armenian genocide recognition as Yerevan mum

KAREN MINASYAN / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Turkey and Egypt are deepening military ties amid regional turmoil

From (L-R) Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attend a meeting in Cairo on June 21, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Explainer

Israel's Armenian genocide recognition marks new front against Turkey

Members of the Jerusalem Armenian community hold placards as they march during commemorations for the 94th anniversary of mass killings of their kin under the Ottoman Empire, Jerusalem's Old City, April 24, 2009.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Christian clerics hold candles during a candle-lit vigil at the Balamand Monastery in Koura, near the north Lebanese city of Tripoli, to call for the release of bishops kidnapped in northern Syria two months ago, June 22, 2013. Greek Orthodox Patriarch John Yazigi led the candle-lit vigil on Saturday for Greek Orthodox archbishop Paul Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim, appealing to their kidnappers to free them and urging Syrian security forces to do more to win their release. REUTERS/Om

Christians In the Levant Grow Fearful Over US Syria Strike

Christians in Syria and Lebanon congregate to discuss the implications for their community should the United States follow through with its plans to carry out military strikes on Syria.

Syrian opposition demonstrators living in Jordan hold a poster of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during a rally in front of the Turkish embassy in Amman June 26, 2011, in support of Turkey's tough stance against President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2O4DU

Five Lessons From Turkey’s 1998 Standoff With Syria

Revisiting the 1998 confrontation with Syria over Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan could help decision makers in Ankara avoid the pitfalls of intervention.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attends the first working session of the G20 Summit in Constantine Palace in Strelna near St. Petersburg, September 5, 2013. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX138DI

Military Strike on Syria May Put Turkey at Risk

Turkey may become the target of Syrian retaliation and face domestic unrest in the case of a US strike on Syria.

Syrian refugees, fleeing the violence in their country, wait to cross the border into the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, August 21, 2013. The government of Iraqi Kurdistan has set an entry quota of 3,000 refugees a day to cope with an influx of Kurds fleeing the civil war in Syria, but there are signs many more are still coming in, aid agencies said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTX12SKT

Syrian Kurdish Party Struggles With Dissent, Exodus

In Amuda, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) has imposed a resolution banning Syrian Kurdish emigration after last month's mass exodus in pursuit of autonomy.

Photographers hold up placards as they protest against government policies and the Muslim Brotherhood's treatment towards photographers, in Cairo March 19, 2013. REUTERS/Khaled Elfiqi/Egyptian Photo Journalistic Society/Pool (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS MEDIA CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3F6WN

Egypt's Journalists Face Violence In Wake of Army Takeover

Following the coup that toppled former President Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s journalists have faced abuse at the hands of state security.

A woman listens to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's speech during his rally in Ankara June 15, 2013. Erdogan warned protesters occupying a central Istanbul park that they should leave before a ruling party rally on Sunday or face eviction by the security forces. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX10OUO

The Master’s Saga: Erdogan’s Documentary

A documentary dedicated to the life of Prime Minister Recep Tayyep Erdogan reveals the fault lines in Turkish politics and society.

Syrian residents carry their belongings as they cross from Syria into Turkey, near the town of Azaz in Syria September 5, 2013. REUTERS/Molhem Barakat (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT POLITICS) - RTX138IF

Turkey Calls for Help Receiving Syrian Refugees

Turkey's foreign minister is concerned that another chemical weapons attack could increase the number of refugees from neighboring countries.

Riot police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest in central Istanbul July 6, 2013. Turkish police fired teargas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of protesters in an Istanbul square on Saturday as they gathered to enter a park that was the centre of protests against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan last month. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX11F1Y

Welcome to Post-Gezi Turkey

Developments in the aftermath of mass anti-government protests in Turkey stoke misgivings over the future of Turkish democracy.

Locals walk past trucks lined up at the Oncupinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern city of Kilis September 5, 2013. Every day, hundreds of trucks piled high with goods ranging from cooking oil to cement and nappies form queues stretching for miles at Oncupinar, now a bustling hub for trade with Syria. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX1389O

Turkey’s Kurdish Strategy Muddled By Talk of US Syria Strike

A slowdown in the peace process with the PKK and anticipation of a US military strike has pushed the Rojava, or Western Kurdistan, opening to the back burner.

A pro-Kurdish demonstrator covers her face as riot police prevent protestors from marching, at Taksim square in central Istanbul February 15, 2012. Supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) held a protest to mark the 13th anniversary of the capture of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CRIME LAW) - RTR2XWBQ

US Strike in Syria Won't Affect Stalled Turkey-PKK Peace Talks

Turkey-PKK negotiations are already stalled.

Palestinian women cross at an Israeli checkpoint in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, during the holy month of Ramadan July 26, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION SOCIETY) - RTX11ZWA

Israel's Checkpoint Princesses

The Israeli women of Machsom Watch mediate between Palestinians traveling through checkpoints and the Israeli soldiers who operate them.

A Palestinian man drives on the border between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip September 3, 2013. Egyptian security forces have destroyed some 20 houses along the border with Gaza, local residents said on Tuesday, in what the Palestinian enclave's Islamist Hamas rulers fear is an effort to build a buffer zone to isolate them.
REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX135NS

Egypt's Buffer-Zone Move Shocks Hamas

Egypt's decision to establish a buffer zone on the Gaza border has raised Palestinian fears of a possible armed confrontation.