Skip to main content

Turkish governor lays out ISIS threat

Celalettin Lekesiz, the governor of Hatay province, is now going public with the threats to Turkey from al-Qaeda and ISIS operations in Turkey and on the Turkey-Syria border.
Search and rescue officers work at a damaged building at the site of blast in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province, near the Turkish-Syrian border, May 14, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZLWH
Read in 

We used to have an "eternally denying governor" who dismissed every incident around the border by al-Qaeda and its derivatives. That governor is "gone" and the "new one" who on behalf of the state admits "the king is naked" is now on duty. But they are both the same man, Celalettin Lekesiz, the governor of Hatay province, who had been involved in covert operations along the border since the outbreak of the civil war in Syria. According to Lekesiz before his change of heart, armed people were never using the camps in Turkey, there were no briefing-orientation houses for al-Qaeda in the border region, it was of course impossible for illegal persons and weapons to cross the border and it was out of question for armed groups to threaten the people of the region. In a nutshell, according to that Gov. Lekesiz, all reports about the region were urban legends.

But in March, Lekesiz sent a report to his superiors in the Ministry of Interior and revealed the movements and plots of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS). Lekesiz, who in his report listed all the ISIS threats against Turkey, had a simple proposal to deal with the organization that, according to the daily Bugun, describes Turkey as a “regime of devils that has exceeded its limits.” Lekesiz proposed: "Let’s adapt the policy the United States followed after Sept. 11 and prevent the illegal crossing of militants to Syria."

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.