AMMAN/ISTANBUL: Turkiye closed its main border crossings into northwest Syria on Tuesday after Turkish troops came under fire from Syrians angered by violence against their compatriots in Turkiye, a Syrian opposition source and residents said.
In Turkiye, police detained 474 people involved in attacks targeting the Syrian community across the country overnight, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, in spreading unrest that began late on Sunday.
Properties and vehicles owned by Syrians were vandalized and set on fire in the central city of Kayseri, stoked by social media reports that a Syrian man had sexually abused a female child relative. Yerlikaya said the incident was being investigated.
The violence spread to the provinces of Hatay, Gaziantep, Konya, Bursa and an Istanbul district, Turkiye’s MIT intelligence agency said in a statement. There were social media reports of some injuries among Syrians.
Subsequently, hundreds of angry Syrians took to the streets in several towns in the rebel-held northwest Syria, an area where Turkiye maintains thousands of troops and has carved out a sphere of influence that has stopped Syrian President Bashar Assad from regaining control.
Late on Monday, Turkiye responded to the unrest by closing until further notice the Bab al Hawa border crossing, a main trade and passenger conduit for more than 3 million inhabitants, along with Bab al Salam and other smaller crossings, a border official told Reuters.
The Syrian border city of Afrin was the scene of the most violent clashes, with at least four people killed in an exchange of fire between armed protesters and Turkish troops. Elsewhere, there were skirmishes and armed clashes, with civilians hurling stones at Turkish convoys in several towns, and tearing down the Turkish flag on some offices.
Several Turkish officials described the unrest in Syria as “provocations,” with the Foreign Ministry saying: “It is wrong to use the sad events that took place in Kayseri ... as the basis for some provocations beyond our borders.”
In a speech on Tuesday, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan blamed the “chaos plan” on groups associated with terrorist organizations, and vowed to reveal the “dirty hands” behind the recent incidents.
“We know who is playing in these games staged with the remnants of the terrorist organization. Neither us, nor our Syrian brothers, will fall into this sly trap...we will not give in to racist vandalism,” Erdogan said following the cabinet meeting.
Erdogan said more than 670,000 people have returned to areas in northern Syria, where Turkiye has been operating to create safe zones over the past decade.
He added, the refugee issue will be solved humanely and morally in line with the economic realities of Turkiye, which is hosting more than 3 million Syrian war refugees.
Erdogan said last Friday a meeting with Assad was possible to help restore bilateral relations. Turkiye severed ties with Syria after the 2011 Syrian civil war and supported rebels looking to oust Assad.
Turkiye closes Syria border after violence flares in both countries
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Turkiye closes Syria border after violence flares in both countries
- Turkiye responded to the unrest by closing the Bab al Hawa border crossing
- Erdogan said a meeting with Assad was possible to help restore bilateral relations
Gideon Saar, Netanyahu rival turned Israel’s new wartime foreign minister
- Saar was appointed foreign minister to replace Israel Katz, who took over the defense portfolio on Tuesday after Netanyahu fired Yoav Gallant over an erosion of trust during the Gaza war
JERUSALEM: A self-styled political rebel and once a rival of the prime minister, Gideon Saar was named Israel’s new foreign minister on Tuesday.
Just five years ago Saar openly challenged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the leadership of Israel’s right-wing Likud party.
The former journalist and lawyer then left Likud in 2020, saying it had been corrupted under Netanyahu’s leadership, to form the hawkish, right-wing New Hope party.
Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war last year, Saar joined the emergency war cabinet, before leaving the administration.
In September, he joined Netanyahu’s government as minister without a portfolio.
“As a long-time member of the government and cabinet, Gideon Saar brings substantial experience and sound judgment in security and policy matters, making him a valuable addition to our leadership team,” Netanyahu said Tuesday in a statement issued by his office.
“The addition of Saar and his party will strengthen the coalition and stabilize the government, which is crucial at all times, particularly in times of war.”
Israel has been fighting Hamas in Gaza since the militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 43,391 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry, figures considered reliable by the UN.
Saar was appointed foreign minister to replace Israel Katz, who took over the defense portfolio on Tuesday after Netanyahu fired Yoav Gallant over an erosion of trust during the Gaza war.
Gallant had for months clashed with Netanyahu over his approach to talks on a possible hostage release deal and on the future of Gaza.
Israeli media earlier this year quoted Gallant as privately telling a parliamentary committee that a hostage release deal “is stalling... in part because of Israel.”
Netanyahu’s office accused Gallant of adopting an “anti-Israel narrative.”
Saar entered politics in 1999 as government secretary, before being elected to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in 2003.
He rose through the ranks to become interior minister and education minister in previous Netanyahu governments.
In 2021 he joined the government of former prime minister Naftali Bennett as justice minister with the title of deputy prime minister.
His political star had, however, dimmed in recent years.
Though he participated in the emergency government formed in the wake of the October 7 attack, he joined the opposition in March after failing to get a seat in the war cabinet.
He is considered more right-wing than Netanyahu, but lacks his charisma.
He has spoken out in favor of the all-out annexation of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
His ideology is “that of the Likud” but he believes that the party has “abandoned its values under Netanyahu,” deputy Sharren Haskel, a close friend of Saar’s, told AFP.
With a father who grew up in Argentina and a mother with roots in Uzbekistan, Saar calls himself a practicing Jew while affirming that “every Israeli citizen must be able to live freely according to his conscience and way of life.”
He is married to high-profile Israeli journalist Geula Even, with whom he has two children.
A daughter from his first marriage, Alona Saar, is a popular actress.
Turkiye, Kyrgyzstan sign strategic partnership on Erdogan visit
- Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov said in a statement: “We have taken an important decision to raise the level of strategic partnership between Kyrgyzstan and Turkiye to that of a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership’“
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan: Turkiye and Kyrgyzstan on Tuesday agreed to a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” boosting defense ties, during an official visit to the Central Asian state by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ankara is strengthening its presence across the region, as it seeks to compete with the likes of Russia and China for influence.
Erdogan regularly visits Central Asia and will on Wednesday take part in a summit of the Organization of Turkic States, a Turkish-led initiative to promote its culture and ties across several former Soviet republics.
Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov said in a statement: “We have taken an important decision to raise the level of strategic partnership between Kyrgyzstan and Turkiye to that of a ‘comprehensive strategic partnership.’“
The two sides signed 19 agreements in areas including energy, defense and the fight against terrorism.
Japarov hailed “Kyrgyz-Turkish cooperation in the field of defense and the potential for further development.”
Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Turkiye has stepped up military cooperation with Central Asian states, a challenge to Moscow’s historic supremacy in the region.
Turkiye was the third-biggest investor in Kyrgyzstan in the first half of 2024, behind Russia and China.
But it lags in terms of trade, accounting for 3.8 percent of Kyrgyzstan’s imports and exports, against 34.2 percent for China and 19.5 percent for Russia.
Turkiye sacks 3 pro-Kurdish mayors for ‘terror ties’
ISTANBUL: Turkiye on Monday sacked three mayors in the Kurdish-majority southeast on alleged “terrorism” charges, despite Ankara’s apparent desire to seek a rapprochement with the Kurdish community.
In a sweep, the mayors of the cities of Mardin and Batman as well as the Halfeti district in Sanliurfa province were all removed and replaced with government-appointed trustees, the Interior Ministry said.
All three belong to DEM, the main pro-Kurdish party, and were elected in March’s local elections, when opposition candidates won in numerous towns and cities, including Istanbul.
Among those removed were Ahmet Turk, Mardin’s 82-year- old mayor, along with Batman mayor Gulistan Sonuk and Mehmet Karayilan in Halfeti.
The ministry outlined a string of allegations against them, frommembershipinanarmed group to disseminating propaganda for the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party, also known as PKK.
Since 1984, the PKK has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state in which more than 40,000 people have died. It is blacklisted as a “terror” group by Turkiye and its Western allies.
Kurds make up around 20 percent of Turkiye’s overall population.
DEM swiftly denounced the moveas“amajorattackonthe Kurdish people’s right to vote and be elected.”
Red Cross launches international emergency appeal urging donors to provide resources for Lebanon
BEIRUT: The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on Tuesday launched an international emergency appeal asking donors to provide resources for Lebanon during the Israel-Hezbollah war.
IFRC also called on all parties to protect paramedics in the conflict that has left thousands of people dead and wounded, many of them over the past six weeks.
Jagan Chapagain, the secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, told The Associated Press in Beirut that “needs are just growing so fast.” He met with officials and toured shelters housing people displaced by the conflict.
The IFRC said its emergency appeal for 100 million Swiss Francs ($115.8 million) is aimed at helping Lebanon and the Lebanese Red Cross through the ongoing conflict.
The 13-month war between Israel and Hezbollah has killed more than 3,000 people, wounded over 13,000 in Lebanon. Hundreds of thousands of the displaced are staying in shelters around the small nation that is passing through a historic economic crisis.
In northern Israel, 68 soldiers and 41 civilians have been killed since October 2023, according to the prime minister’s office. More than 60,000 people have been displaced from their homes.
The conflict dramatically escalated on Sept. 23, with intense Israeli airstrikes on south and east Lebanon as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs, leaving hundreds dead and leading to the displacement of nearly 1.2 million people.
Chapagain said people staying in community centers around the country need hygiene kits, non-food items, blankets and heaters as winter approaches. He added that even if the hostilities stop, it will take time for things to go back to normal and that is one of the reasons why the IFRC’s emergency appeal goes for two years.
“The global community needs to come together to find a political solution to the challenges this region has been facing for decades,” Chapagain said.
He said that more than 30 staff and volunteers globally have already been killed this year and dozens injured adding that many other organizations have also lost members of their staff.
“This is something unheard of many years ago,” he said about the 30 deaths, adding that among the countries where paramedics suffered most are Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and Sudan.
In Lebanon, 17 members of the Lebanese Red Cross have been wounded since the conflict began while carrying out their rescue duties in different parts of Lebanon. Three of the 17 paramedics were wounded twice, according to IFRC.
“The Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems are protected,” said Chapagain.
Israeli military says sirens sounded in Eilat
- The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said in a statement that it targeted a “vital target” in Eilat
BAGHDAD: Israeli military said on Tuesday that sirens were sounded in the Red Sea port city of Eilat.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq said in a statement that it targeted a “vital target” in Eilat by drones.
The Iraqi pro-Iran group has been launching attacks on Israel since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza.
