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Turkey

Turkey

August 2, 2026

Ankara 7:04 am

18°C

A demonstrator carries a CHP flag during a protest in Izmir, Turkey, on May 24, 2026.

Explainer

What’s behind Turkey’s latest wave of arrests against opposition mayors?

The operations come as Ozgur Ozel’s newly formed party gains momentum.

Latest News

Turkey, Pakistan among 14 countries backing Saudi Arabia's anti-Houthi Red Sea alliance

A Saudi navy ship is pictured docked at King Faisal navy base in Jeddah before the departure of a team to Port Sudan to help with the evacuation efforts of people fleeing Sudan, on April 29, 2023.

Turkey ready to participate in post-UNIFIL force in Lebanon, Erdogan tells Aoun

Erdogan and Aoun

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

A supporter wears a mask showing Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during a rally of ruling AK party in Istanbul June 16, 2013. Tens of thousands of Erdogan's supporters massed at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday, as riot police fired tear gas to break up pockets of anti-government protesters in the city center several kilometers away. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10PV2

Erdogan’s Conspiracy Theories Contain a Paradox

Erdogan is confronting the very international forces that have helped him to consolidate his rule and expand Turkey’s reach across the region.

Turkey Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is pictured after his speech during conference in Ankara, June 18, 2013. Police raided addresses across Turkey on Tuesday and detained dozens of people in an operation linked to three weeks of often violent protests against Erdogan. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10S0B

Most Turks Do Not Support Erdogan's Syria Policy

According to a recent poll, only 27.4% of Turks support their prime minister's Syria policies.

Men grieve over a grave at the funerals for those killed in Saturday's clashes at the Libya Shield brigade headquarters, in Benghazi June 9, 2013. Libya's army will take control of a militia's bases in the eastern city of Benghazi after clashes in which 31 people were killed, an army spokesman said on Sunday. Fighting broke out on Saturday at the headquarters of the Libya Shield brigade when protesters demanded the disbanding of the militias, whose continued existence nearly two years after the fall of Muam

In Libya, Militias Rule

The collapse of Libya’s intelligence and security sectors requires urgent reform.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during a rally by his ruling AK Party in Istanbul June 16, 2013. Erdogan rallied hundreds of thousands of supporters at an Istanbul parade ground on Sunday as riot police fired teargas several kilometres away in the city centre to disperse anti-government protesters. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10PZS

Women Will Decide Extent Of Turkey's Religiosity

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been using religious symbols in his rallies, giving the wrong impression internationally and raising concerns about Turkey's religious turn.

Anti-government protesters, with the New mosque in the background, gather over the Galata bridge in Istanbul June 16, 2013. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan rallied hundreds of thousands of supporters at an Istanbul parade ground on Sunday as riot police fired teargas several kilometres away in the city centre to disperse anti-government protesters. Riot police fired teargas into side streets around the central Taksim Square as he spoke, trying to prevent protesters from regrouping after hundreds were

Turkey’s Deepening Polarization

A recent poll shows declining support for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and AKP policies.

Turkish police guard the entrance of Gezi Park at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 17, 2013. Turkish police detained 441 people in connection with clashes in Istanbul on Sunday between police and demonstrators protesting against the government, an official at the city's bar association said on Monday. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX10QLE

Erdogan’s Hubris Syndrome

Is there a strategy behind Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s polarizing, hard-line policies?

Iranian presidential candidate Hassan Rohani (L) waves to supporters in the central Iranian city of Shiraz June 11, 2013. Picture taken June 11, 2013. REUTERS/Fars News/Mohammad Hadi Khosravi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE WAS PROCESSED BY REUTERS TO ENHANCE QUALITY. AN UNPROCESSED VERSION WILL BE PROVIDED SEPARATELY - RTX10L2E

Obama Should Invite Iran's Rouhani to Geneva

The election of Hassan Rouhani as president of Iran might present an opening for a political solution to the Syria war.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is projected on a screen during a live broadcast as he speaks to his supporters at an event marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Al-Nour radio station, which is operated by the Hezbollah in Beirut, May 9, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS MEDIA ANNIVERSARY) - RTXZGEC

Exclusive: I Saw Nasrallah in Qusair

The Hezbollah secretary-general’s mysterious visit to Qusair may not have been his first.

People wave flags during Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan speech at 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: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10OSI

Erdogan Cheered, Criticized In AKP Stronghold

A crowd rallies for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a show of force against the protests, but not without a sense of apprehension even in one of his party’s main strongholds.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on their ability to film or take pictures in Tehran.

A member of the Revolutionary Guard Colonel Hamid Ahmadi speaks with journalists about military operations against PJAK (Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan) during a news conference in Tehran August 17, 2011. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2Q0QK

Iranian Kurdish Struggle Linked to Turkey, Syria

Iran is not admitting that Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps units are operating in Syria.

Protesters watch a film in Gezi park in Istanbul's Taksim square early June 14, 2013. Turkish protesters said on Friday Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had pledged not to push ahead with plans to redevelop an Istanbul park until a court ruled on the project, in what they heralded as a positive sign after two weeks of protest. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX10N5E

Erdogan Places Blame for Protests On International Conspiracy

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be better served by focusing on governance, and not blaming foreign or other interests for Turkey’s problems.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C) speaks with AK Party (AKP) members after an AKP meeting in Ankara June 14, 2013. Erdogan on Friday called on hundreds of protesters occupying central Istanbul's Gezi Park to leave, saying their message had been received by the government after talks aimed at ending two weeks of unrest. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10NQ0

Russia Sees Turkey Through Its Own Lens

As long as Russia-Turkey relations stay calm, Moscow has no comment.