Turkey bans Syrians, Iraqis and Yemenis from flights to Belarus

An Airbus A-321 aircraft of the Turkish Airline arrives at the Vienna International Airport on August 4, 2021, amid the ongoing coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. (File/AFP)
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Updated 12 November 2021
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Turkey bans Syrians, Iraqis and Yemenis from flights to Belarus

  • Ankara takes steps to curb migrant crisis

ANKARA: Poland, Belarus and Turkey are at the center of a refugee crisis after thousands of migrants from Syria, Iraq and Yemen have become trapped at the Polish border, having been denied entry into Poland and prevented from re-entering Belarus. The crisis has now acquired an international dimension with NATO and Brussels on alert.

Since August, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland — all of which share a border with Belarus — have reported a surge in irregular crossings. The latest figures showed that, in October, around 11,300 migrants mostly from Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria attempted to enter the EU via the Belarus-EU border compared to 150 in the same month last year.

Warsaw initially criticized Turkey for maintaining an open corridor between Istanbul and Minsk, which, it said, helped Belarus to channel refugees from war-torn countries to the Polish border. The Polish government asked Turkey’s national carrier, Turkish Airlines, to ban nationals from Syria, Yemen and Iraq from its flights to Minsk.

Turkey’s Civil Aviation Authority announced on Friday that it had acceded to Poland’s demands, saying: “Due to the problem of illegal border crossings between the European Union and Belarus, it has been decided that citizens of Iraq, Syria and Yemen who want to travel to Belarus from Turkish airports will not be allowed to buy tickets, or board, until further notice.”

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs marked Poland’s National Day on Thursday by emphasizing the strategic partnership between the two countries, adding: “We stand by our ally Poland in its fight against irregular migration.”

Belarus’s state-owned airline Belavia recently increased the frequency of its flights between Turkey and Minsk. The airline strongly denies any involvement in human trafficking, and announced on its website that it would comply with the decision of the Turkish authorities and would not accept citizens of Iraq, Syria, or Yemen for transportation on flights from Turkey to Belarus from Nov. 12.

“During the crisis, the number of flights from Istanbul to Minsk grew significantly, from seven a week to 28 per week in July. This is why lots of Poles and Europeans connected the dots and claimed that Turkey was either directly supporting the Belarusian regime’s actions or had chosen inaction so as not to endanger its relations with Russia,” Karol Wasilewski, an analyst at the Warsaw-based Polish Institute of International Affairs, told Arab News.

According to Wasilewski, there could have been many reasons behind Turkey’s inaction.

“This could have been due to bad (communication), legal doubts or just a different perception —in Turkey’s eyes, a country which proudly hosts 4 million refugees, the situation on the Poland–Belarus border can barely be called a crisis,” he said.

But, he stressed, the situation on that border has shifted dramatically in recent days. Hundreds of refugees are now living in makeshift camps along the Belarusian-Polish border in harsh winter conditions. Poland has implemented a state of emergency along its border, deploying hundreds of troops using water cannons and pepper spray to deter potential asylum seekers from crossing the border illegally.

“The migrants have been organized into huge columns, and trained by the Belarusian regime on how to break the border infrastructure,” he claimed. “And they did it, effectively also breaking the rules of the Geneva Convention. This is why the whole EU suddenly mobilized itself and expressed support for Poland, but this is also why Turkey’s situation got worse,” he said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen underlined on Monday that the EU may consider sanctions and blacklisting for third countries’ whose airlines contribute to human trafficking.

“Although this was not a threat aimed just at Turkish Airlines, it was clear that the EU thinks the Turkish national carrier is part of the problem, even if it was engaging in this unconsciously,” Wasilewski said.

Two senior EU officials, Margaritis Schinas and Josep Borrell, are expected to visit Turkey, among other countries, to discuss and promote measures to stop refugees flying to Minsk.

Aydin Sezer, an expert on geopolitics and Russia-Turkey relations, said Turkey would attempt to maintain the delicate balance of its relationship with Poland, with which it has defense ties, and with Belarus and Russia.

Poland became the first NATO and EU member to buy Turkish-made drones and has also made a commitment to reaching $10 billion in bilateral trade with Turkey.

Turkey also recently flew F-16 jets in Polish airspace under NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission and reportedly intercepted low-flying targets over the Baltic Sea.

NATO is obligated to defend the territories of its members, including Poland.

“There is a close relationship between the Turkish and Belarusian leaders, so while Turkey would like to preserve its trade ties with Poland, Ankara won’t risk taking further steps towards mediation between Belarus and Poland in regards to the refugee crisis,” Sezer told Arab News.

However, Turkey will likely take some strategic steps to maintain its international image.

“The commercial value of Turkish Airlines as a national carrier will push Turkey to revise its regional policy for commercial purposes,” Sezer said.

In its statement on Wednesday, Turkish Airlines said the company “makes sure to comply with all security measures and sensibilities in cooperation with international officials in all its flights operated to all corners of the world.”


16 injured after Israel hit by Yemen-launched ‘projectile’

Updated 15 min 20 sec ago
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16 injured after Israel hit by Yemen-launched ‘projectile’

  • According to Israeli media, the projectile fell in the town of Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv

JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said Saturday it had failed to intercept a “projectile” launched from Yemen that landed near Tel Aviv, with the national medical service saying 14 people were lightly wounded.

“Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in central Israel, one projectile launched from Yemen was identified and unsuccessful interception attempts were made,” the Israeli military said on its Telegram channel.

Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have repeatedly launched missile attacks against Israel since the war in Gaza began more than a year ago, most of which have been intercepted.

In return, Israel has struck multiple targets in Yemen — including ports and energy facilities in areas controlled by the Houthis.

“A short time ago, reports were received of a weapon falling in one of the settlements within the Tel Aviv district,” Israeli police said Saturday.

According to Israeli media, the projectile fell in the town of Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv.

Israel’s emergency medical service said 14 people had been injured.

“Additional teams are treating several people on-site who were injured while heading to protected areas, as well as those suffering from anxiety,” a spokesman said.

The Houthi rebels say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians and last week pledged to continue operations “until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted.”

On December 9, a drone claimed by Houthis exploded on the top floor of a residential building in the central Israel city of Yavne, causing no casualties.

In July, a Houthi drone attack in Tel Aviv killed an Israeli civilian, prompting retaliatory strikes on the Yemeni port of Hodeidah.

The Houthis have also regularly targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, leading to retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets by US and sometimes British forces.

The rebels said Thursday that Israeli air strikes that day killed nine people, after the group fired a missile toward Israel, badly damaging a school.

While Israel has previously hit targets in Yemen, Thursday’s were the first against the rebel-held capital Sanaa.

“The Israeli enemy targeted ports in Hodeida and power stations in Sanaa, and the Israeli aggression resulted in the martyrdom of nine civilian martyrs,” rebel leader Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said in a lengthy speech broadcast by the rebels’ Al-Masira TV.

Israel said it struck the targets in Yemen after intercepting a missile fired from the country, a strike the rebels subsequently claimed.

Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said they had fired ballistic missiles at “two specific and sensitive military targets... in the occupied Yaffa area,” referring to the Jaffa region near Tel Aviv.


Amnesty slams Hezbollah for unguided rocket fire at Israeli towns

Updated 21 December 2024
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Amnesty slams Hezbollah for unguided rocket fire at Israeli towns

  • Amnesty already released the findings of its investigation into Israeli actions during the war
  • A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on November 27

BEIRUT: Human rights group Amnesty International on Friday condemned Lebanese militant group Hezbollah for firing salvos of unguided rockets at civilian areas of Israel during the latest conflict.
“Hezbollah’s reckless use of unguided rocket salvos has killed and wounded civilians, and destroyed and damaged civilian homes in Israel,” said Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard.
“The use of these inherently inaccurate weapons in or near populated civilian areas amounts to prima facie violations of international humanitarian law,” she said.
“Direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects and indiscriminate attacks that kill and injure civilians must be investigated as war crimes.”
Amnesty said it had documented three Hezbollah rocket attacks on Israeli towns and cities that killed eight civilians and wounded at least 16 others following the escalation of the conflict in late September.
In footage of the attacks, it said it had identified the use of unguided multiple launch rocket systems that violate the bedrock principle of distinction under international humanitarian law.
At the time, Hezbollah announced a series of rocket barrages targeting Israeli population centers in response to Israeli air strikes on Lebanese towns and villages.
Amnesty already released the findings of its investigation into Israeli actions during the war.
It said it had documented unlawful Israeli air strikes that killed 49 civilians, which must be investigated as war crimes.
A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on November 27.
Despite the truce, Israeli air strikes have killed more than 20 people in Lebanon since November 27, according to an AFP tally based on health ministry figures.
Both Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of repeatedly violating the ceasefire.
Since Hezbollah first started trading cross-border fire with the Israeli army in October 2023, the war has killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, according to health ministry figures.
On the Israeli side, the conflict has killed 30 soldiers and 47 civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.


Security for Kurds ‘essential’ for a secure Syria: German FM

Updated 21 December 2024
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Security for Kurds ‘essential’ for a secure Syria: German FM

  • “The view that the PKK/YPG represents the Kurds in Syria is wrong,” the source quoted him as saying, stressing Turkiye would never allow such “terrorist organizations to abuse the situation in Syria”

ANKARA: Security for the Kurdish people is critical for Syria to have a secure future, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told her Turkish counterpart in Ankara on Friday.
“Security, especially for Kurds, is essential for a free and secure future for Syria,” she told journalists after meeting Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, warning of the dangers of any “escalation” with Kurdish forces in Syria.
Earlier Friday, Baerbock raised the alarm over fresh violence in northern Syria, where Turkish troops and Ankara-backed fighters have been battling the Syrian Defense Forces (SDF), a Kurdish-led group supported by the US.
Ankara sees the SDF as an extension of its domestic nemesis, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which has led a decades-long insurgency on Turkish soil, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisting Friday it was “time to neutralize the existing terror organizations in Syria.”
Her comments came as concerns grew over a possible Turkish assault on the Kurdish-held border town of Kobani, also known as Ain Al-Arab, after pro-Turkish fighters seized Manbij and Tal Rifaat, two other key Kurdish-held towns.
As Islamist-led rebels pressed their lightning that toppled Bashar Assad, Turkish-backed fighters began a parallel operation against Kurdish-led forces in the north, sparking clashes that left hundreds dead in just a few days.
“Thousands of Kurds from Manbij and other places are on the run in Syria or are afraid of fresh violence,” the German minister said.
“I made it very, very clear today that our common security interests must not be jeopardized by an escalation with the Kurds in Syria.”

But she expressed understanding for Ankara’s “legitimate” security concerns, saying “northeast Syria must not pose a threat to Turkiye” while also warning that Islamic State (IS) group jihadists must not be allowed to regain a foothold in Syria.
“No one would be helped if the real winner of a conflict with the Kurds turned out to be the terrorists of IS: that would be a security threat for Syria, Turkiye and also for us in Europe.”
According to a foreign ministry source, Fidan told her the PKK and the YPG — the main force within the SDF — did not represent the Kurdish people.
“The view that the PKK/YPG represents the Kurds in Syria is wrong,” the source quoted him as saying, stressing Turkiye would never allow such “terrorist organizations to abuse the situation in Syria.”
“We expect all our allies to respect Turkiye’s security concerns,” he added.
Baerbock also said Berlin would judge Syria’s new Islamist-led HTS rulers on the basis of their actions amid concerns over the group’s Al-Qaeda origins.
“A radical Islamist order will only lead to new fragmentation, new oppression and therefore new violence,” she said.
“We will judge the new rulers by their actions.”
 

 


UN extends peacekeeping mission between Syria, Israeli-occupied Golan Heights

Updated 21 December 2024
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UN extends peacekeeping mission between Syria, Israeli-occupied Golan Heights

  • Armed forces from Israel and Syria are not allowed in the demilitarized zone — a 400-square-km (155-square-mile) “Area of Separation” — under the ceasefire arrangement

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council on Friday extended a long-running peacekeeping mission between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights for six months and expressed concern that military activities in the area could escalate tensions.
Since a lightning rebel offensive ousted Syrian President Bashar Assad earlier this month, Israeli troops have moved into the demilitarised zone — created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war — that is patrolled by the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).
Israeli officials have described the move as a limited and temporary measure to ensure the security of Israel’s borders but have given no indication of when the troops might be withdrawn.
In the resolution adopted on Friday, the Security Council stressed “that both parties must abide by the terms of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic and scrupulously observe the ceasefire.”
It expressed concern that “the ongoing military activities conducted by any actor in the area of separation continue to have the potential to escalate tensions between Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic, jeopardize the ceasefire between the two countries, and pose a risk to the local civilian population and United Nations personnel on the ground.”
Armed forces from Israel and Syria are not allowed in the demilitarized zone — a 400-square-km (155-square-mile) “Area of Separation” — under the ceasefire arrangement.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday: “Let me be clear: There should be no military forces in the area of separation other than UN peacekeepers – period.” He also said Israeli airstrikes on Syria were violations of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and “must stop.”

 


Israeli airstrikes kill at least 25 Palestinians in Gaza, medics say

Updated 21 December 2024
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Israeli airstrikes kill at least 25 Palestinians in Gaza, medics say

  • Authorities in Gaza say Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the population of 2.3 million

CAIRO: Israeli airstrikes killed at least 25 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Friday, medics said, including at least eight in an apartment in the Nuseirat refugee camp and at least 10, including seven children, in the town of Jabalia.
Mediators have yet to secure a ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas after more than a year of conflict.
Sources close to the discussions told Reuters on Thursday that Qatar and Egypt had been able to resolve some differences between the warring parties but sticking points remained.
Israel began its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel says about 100 hostages are still being held, but it is unclear how many are alive.
Authorities in Gaza say Israel’s campaign has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians and displaced most of the population of 2.3 million. Much of the coastal enclave is in ruins.