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

Turkey

Turkey

August 28, 2026

Ankara 1:51 pm

26°C

Omer Messinger/Getty Images

Top European court says Kavala case exposes erosion of judicial independence in Turkey

Europe's top human rights court has renewed its call for Turkey to immediately release jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala, saying his imprisonment reflects a broader “systemic problem” over independence and impartiality of the judiciary.

Equality and Democracy Party lawmakers

Explainer

Turkey’s Kurdish peace process moves to implementation: What to know and what’s next

Turkey’s peace process with Kurdish militants has entered the implementation phase this week, with authorities setting up working groups to verify the Kurdistan Workers Party’s disarmament.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C) watches as US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack prepares to sign an agreement in Damascus on September 16, 2025. Shaibani announced on September 16 a plan backed by Jordan and the United States to restore calm to Druze-majority Sweida province, which witnessed deadly violence in July. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Israel recalibrates Syria policy, explores path to security deal

Israel is rethinking its hard-line Syria policy and seeking to repair ties with US envoy and Donald Trump's confidant Tom Barrack amid a push for a security agreement with Damascus.

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

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

Turkey/Syria border

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

People wave flags of Libya (R) and Turkey (L) during a demonstration in the Martyrs' Square in the centre of the Libyan capital Tripoli, currently held by the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), on June 21, 2020. - The GNA on June 21 denounced Egypt's warning of military intervention in Libya, labelling it a "declaration of war", after the Egyptian President warned that if pro-GNA forces advanced on the strategic city of Sirte -- some 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli -- it could pro

Turkey gears up for tougher challenge in Libya as conflict heats up

Despite cease-fire calls in Libya, Turkey and its allies might be readying for a push toward the strategically important areas of Sirte and al-Jufra next month.

Copies of John Bolton's book 'The Room Where It Happened' are pictured on display at a Barnes and Noble bookstore in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., June 23, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri - RC24FH9EPVTE

Senior Erdogan aide slams Bolton memoir for depictions of Turkish president

Ankara has criticized the former US national security adviser’s descriptions of President Donald Trump’s discussions with his Turkish counterpart, accusing him of publishing the book for his own personal gain.

Erdogan’s most loyal supporters want to know where the money is

The battle between the haves and the have-nots within the ruling party base is intensifying.

A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey March 9, 2018. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir - RC15BE5D1D20

Turkish court releases three journalists on trial for revealing state secrets

Journalists stood trial Wednesday for reporting on the funeral of a Turkish intelligence officer killed in Libya in a court case condemned by press freedom advocates.

Sheen Ibrahim, Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) looks for drones operated by Islamic State militants in Raqqa, Syria June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic - RC1D3CB0FA70

Turkish drone strike kills three Kurdish women in Syria

The leader of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces called on the United States and Russian to stop what he called Turkey's "policy of massacres against the Kurds" after last night's drone strike.

Top Turkish lawyers complete protest march after 24-hour standoff

Initially denied entry to Ankara, several dozen heads of Turkish bar associations completed a march against a controversial proposal Tuesday after camping overnight on the capital’s outskirts.

RAMADI, IRAQ: US soldiers take part in a shooting training in the restive city of Ramadi, 100 kms west of Baghdad, 02 December 2004. The United States announced plans to increase its forces in Iraq to their highest levels since last year's invasion, as the country's interim government engaged in a flurry of contacts to rally support for January 30 elections. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Images)

US soldier helped neo-Nazis plan 'mass casualty' attack on own unit in Turkey, feds say

Prosecutors say Ethan Phelan Melzer fed sensitive information about his unit to members of an occult white supremacist organization whose founder once pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda.

Turkish army Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar (L) escorts Somalia Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheire during an inauguration ceremony of the Turkish military base in Mogadishu on September 30, 2017.
Turkey inaugurated the largest foreign-run military training centre in Somalia, where local troops are due to take over the protection of a nation threatened by Shabaab Islamist attacks. / AFP PHOTO / Mustafa ABDI (Photo credit should read MUSTAFA ABDI/AFP via Getty Images)

Al-Qaeda affiliate bombs Turkish base in Somalia

Al-Shabab has attacked Turkey in the Horn of Africa country before due to Ankara's support for the Somali government.

Afro-Turks join global outcry over George Floyd killing

The little-known community that largely traces its roots to the Ottoman slave trade is speaking out about police brutality in America, saying their own example of coexistence is an example for the West.

A woman pushes a cart loaded with a sack of wheat in Qamishli, Syria September 18, 2017. Picture taken September 18, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said TO MATCH INSIGHT MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-WHEAT-ISLAMIC STATE - RC183B72BD10

Syrian Kurds say Turkish charity dwarfed by stolen produce

As Turkey touts its humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria's Idlib, critics weigh the six truckloads of supplies against its thousands of tons of allegedly looted Syrian grain.

Is Turkey’s wealth fund becoming a crisis shelter?

More company rescues could be imminent in Turkey after the sovereign wealth fund acquired the control of a leading mobile phone operator at the expense of further borrowing.

U.S. President Donald Trump is depicted as border barrier opener for Turkey's President Recip Tayyip Erdogan, who sits on a tank, during a sneak preview for the upcoming Rose Monday carnival parade in Cologne, Germany, February 18, 2020. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay - RC213F97TGLM

Bolton memoir paints Erdogan, Trump as kindred spirits

In his new memoir, former national security adviser John Bolton reveals just how tangled Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's foreign policies are with US President Donald Trump.