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

Turkey

Turkey

August 25, 2026

Ankara 8:05 am

21°C

A Turkish soldier from the 1st Border Regiment Command looks out over the border wall to Syria during alert drills at a military outpost on the Turkey/Syria border on March 2, 2017 in Kilis, Turkey.

Analysis

Why Turkey sees Israeli strikes in Syria as warning over its military role, Mecca Pact

Ankara views Israel’s latest strikes in Syria as part of a broader effort to curb Turkey’s military influence in Damascus and a challenge to its regional defense partnerships.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Turkey/Syria border

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

As Washington pushes a new deconfliction mechanism between Turkey and Israel, the Jewish state shows little incentive to accept tighter constraints on its freedom of action in Syria, experts say.

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

Latest News

Analysis

Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them

ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 7: U.S. President Donald Trump (L)shakes hands with with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) during a formal arrival at the Bestepe Presidential Palace during the NATO summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Emrah Gurel - Pool/Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Turkey seeks Interpol Red Notices for Netanyahu over Gaza flotilla

Murat Kocabas / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Turkey signals restraint as war of words with Israel escalates over Syria

Burhaanettin Duran

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

U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller - RC1C1F12DE90

Turkey issues warrants for over 100 accused of Gulen ties

The Turkish prosecutor's office ordered the arrest of 118 people suspected of ties to the outlawed Gulen movement.

SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB Crowds of angry protestors line the motorcade route as seen from inside U.S. President Donald Trump's motorcade as he travels through Washington to visit the Saint John Paul II National Shrine as protests continue over the death in police custody of George Floyd, in Washington, U.S., June 2, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC241H90KOXZ

Turkey ignores its own record, denouncing press clampdown in US protests

Turkish officials have denounced the crackdown on journalists in the United States, drawing criticism given Ankara's own record on press freedom.

Syriac Christian girls, who are members of the choir, attend a mass on Christmas at the Virgin Mary Syriac Orthodox Church in Diyarbakir, Turkey, December 25, 2017. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RC1E35E59DE0

Minorities in Turkey on edge amid threats, attacks

Vulnerable groups have faced intimidation or worse in recent weeks in what both the government and the opposition warn are efforts to stoke conflict, though they disagree on who’s to blame.

Women hold food aid distributed by humanitarian institutions in Afrin, Syria March 20, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC169F36FD00

‘An insult to women’ everywhere: Afrin kidnappings prompt calls for investigation of Turkey-backed rebels

A video reportedly showing detained women inside a secret prison in Afrin has prompted further criticism of Turkey's proxy forces operating in Syria.

Members of the Great Lakes anti-fascist organization (Antifa) fly flags during a protest against the Alt-right outside a hotel in Warren, Michigan, U.S., March 4, 2018. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith - RC1B5E31E310

Turkey looks to link Syrian Kurdish militia to ANTIFA following Trump tweet

Some foreign veterans of the People's Protection Units (YPG) disagree with the Turkish assertion that ANTIFA and the Kurdish group are connected.

An Islamic State flag flies over the custom office of Syria's Jarablus border gate as it is pictured from the Turkish town of Karkamis, in Gaziantep province, Turkey August 1, 2015. Karkamis is a Turkish town of 10,500 people that sits directly opposite the border post. Shut for more than a year, the military sealed the crossing with a breeze block wall a few months ago. Behind it, just inside Syria, the black flag of Islamic State flaps in the breeze. Karkamis lies on the northeastern edge of a rectangle o

Turkey deports 12 Islamic State-linked fighters to Finland

The move comes after European governments have largely declined to take back detained citizens with links to the terror group.

A Turkish Airlines Airbus A320-200 plane is seen on the tarmac of the city's new Istanbul Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, April 6, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1E1602C690

Turkey’s megaprojects threaten ‘mega’ financial havoc

Turkey’s government might be forced to nationalize some megaproject investments, chief among them the new airport in Istanbul, which have hit dire straits under the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Turkey’s existing economic woes.

Reports: Children among the dead after Syrian rebels clash in Turkish-held Afrin

Clashes between Syrian rebel groups in the northern city of Afrin left at least two children dead Thursday.

Turkey's assault against Syrian Kurds leaves trail of misery and spin

Was a burn victim hit by white phosphorus during Turkey's invasion of Ras al-Ain in October? Whatever the reason, he and many others are still suffering.

Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport after being attacked in Tripoli, Libya February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Elumami - RC2O9F9S4FIK

What does Libya’s ‘Syrianization’ scenario mean for key actors?

Turkey may have gotten kudos for tipping the balance in Libya, but Russian countermoves raise the prospect of Turkish collaboration with Russia in the North African country, which is not to the liking of countries that have been giving plaudits to Ankara.

Four Seasons Sultanahmet Hotel staff members practice the service rules as they check the readiness of the hotel to the Healthy Tourism Certificate Program aims to convince travellers despite the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, May 21, 2020. Picture taken May 21, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC2QTG93W1FZ

Turkey readies for 'new normal' after declaring success against coronavirus

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that a raft of restrictions imposed to curb the outbreak will be lifted next week as the country’s infection and death rates fall sharply.

Abandoned military buildings are seen in the deserted Yassiada in Marmara sea off Istanbul, Turkey, May 14, 2015. Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu inaugurated the "Democracy and Freedom Islands" complex in Yassiada, where the military tribunals sentenced then-prime minister Adnan Menderes along with two of his ministers to death after the May 27, 1960 coup. The complex is expected to be completed in a year and will include a democracy martyrs' monument, a democracy museum, a hotel, conference hall, c

Erdogan dedicates Turkish island project to hanged idol

Turkey’s president says the island of Yassiada may become a Turkish Camp David, while critics slam the destruction of the landscape and archaeological heritage.