Turkey Live Blog

5 hours 16 min ago - Turkey

Two Turkish journalists missing in Syria have been handed over to Syrian intelligence by "shabiha", pro-regime thugs, the Anatolia news agency reported on Thursday.

One of the journalists, cameraman Hamit Coskun, was injured and he might have been tortured, the agency said, quoting local sources.

Intelligence units took the journalists out of the village of Al-Fua near the opposition stronghold of Idlib in two armoured vehicles, Anatolia said,  adding that their whereabouts was now unknown.

Adem Ozkose from the Istanbul-based Milat newspaper and Coskun, believed to be a freelance, travelled to Idlib early this month to cover the deadly violence and shoot a documentary, local media said. [AFP]

 

Tags Adem Ozkose, Hamit Coskun, syria
16 hours 24 min ago - Syria

Turkey's foreign ministry has confirmed that the country is hosting seven defected Syrian generals in addition to more than 14,000 refugees.

Spokesman Selcuk Unal told reporters in Ankara on Thursday that roughly 1,000 Syrians had crossed the border to Turkey in the past 24 hours, including one of the generals.

In Sanliurfa province, near the halfway point of Turkey's 910-kilometre border with Syria, Turkey has already started building a massive camp site that can house up to 20,000 people, Anatolia news agency reported Wednesday.

Tags defection, generals, refugees, Turkey
1 day 13 hours ago - Istanbul

File 61936
[Al Jazeera has permission to use these images from Adem Ozkose's Facebook page]

Two Turkish journalists from an Istanbul-based newspaper have disappeared in neighbouring Syria.

The newspaper Milat said on Wednesday that it had not had contact with journalist Adem Ozkose and cameraman Hamit Coskun for five days.

The two called the newspaper on March 9 and said they were in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib near the Turkish border.

The newspaper said: "We expect an urgent statement from Syrian authorities" about the crew's whereabouts, while also seeking help from Turkish foreign ministry officials to locate the two.

Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, said his ministry was exerting "intensive efforts" to find the missing journalists, Turkey's NTV television reported.

"The humanitarian situation is deteriorating in Syria," he warned.

Click here to read the full article.

For more of Al Jazeera's special coverage visit our spotlight page: Syria - The War Within

Tags Adem Ozkose, Hamit Coskun, Missing journalists, syria, Turkey
1 day 17 hours ago - Syria

 

Two Turkish journalists have gone missing in Syria.

Adem Özköse, the Middle East correspondent of Gerçek Hayat magazine and a columnist for the Milat paper, and Hamit Coşkun, a cameraman, crossed from Hatay to the Syrian city of Idlib a week ago.

They notified their families when they reached İdlib, but there has been no news from them for the past four days.

They had travelled to Syria to shoot a documentary.

Tags journalists, Turkey
2 days 8 hours ago - Syria

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David Petraeus, head of the US Central Intelligence Agency, met Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday for closed-door talks focusing on the crisis across the border in Syria.

Petraeus also discussed the latest developments in neighbouring Iran and efforts to counter Kurdish fighters attacking Turkey from safe havens in northern Iraq, said NTV television channel.

T.J. Grubisha, spokesperson for the US embassy, said Petraeus met with Erdogan and Hakan Fidan, head of the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation and "discussed areas of mutual concern, including regional security issues and counter-terrorism co-operation".

"They foresee even closer and more fruitful cooperation on the region's most pressing issues in the coming months,"he said.

The talks were not part of Erdogan's official itinerary. The premier's office declined to comment on the report.

Click here to read our latest news story on Syria.

For more of Al Jazeera's special coverage visit our spotlight page: Syria - The War Within

Tags CIA US Central Intelligence Agency, David Petraeus, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey
2 days 10 hours ago - Syria

After talks with President Bashar al Assad over the weekend, UN special envoy Kofi Annan met Syrian opposition leaders in Ankara.

Al Jazeera's James Bays has this report from the Turkish capital.

Tags Kofi Annan, Turkey
2 days 11 hours ago - Syria

Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reports from Idlib province:

I think the people in Syria are rapidly giving up on any hope of the outside world doing anything.

"There is cynicism, there is anger … some blame Israel, some blame America, some blame the Gulf countries.

Many are also angry with neighbouring Turkey, a country that many opposition activists once hoped would play a big role in bringing resolution to the conflict.

"They now see Turkish policies as a total failure," she reports.

Tags Anita McNaught, Gulf countries, Idlib province, Israel, Turkey
2 days 20 hours ago - Syria
Syrian forces have placed landminesnear the borders with Lebanon and Turkey in recent weeks and months, Human Rights Watch said today, based on reports and confirmations from witnesses and Syrian deminers. Civilian casualties have already resulted, the witnesses said.
 
The Syrian army should cease its use of antipersonnel landmines and recognize that planting this internationally banned weapon will hurt Syrians for years to come, Human Rights Watch said. Both antipersonnel and antivehicle mines of Soviet/Russian origin have been cleared by deminers associated with the opposition.
 
“Any use of antipersonnel landmines is unconscionable,” said Steve Goose, Arms Division director at Human Rights Watch. “There is absolutely no justification for the use of these indiscriminate weapons by any country, anywhere, for any purpose.”
 
Antipersonnel mines are militarily ineffective weapons that mostly kill and injure civilians, Human Rights Watch said. A total of 159 countries have joined the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, which comprehensively prohibits the use, production, trade, and stockpiling of antipersonnel mines.
 
Tags human rights watch, lebanon, Turkey
3 days 8 hours ago - Turkey

File 61851
[Image: AFP]

UN peace envoy Kofi Annan met with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Monday, following talks in Qatar earlier in the day.

Annan is expected to meet members of the Syrian opposition in Ankara on Tuesday, according to his staff.

[Source: Reuters]

Read our news story for more detail and context: US and UN demand end to Syria bloodshed 

For the latest on the violence in Syria click here.

For more of Al Jazeera's special coverage visit our spotlight page: Syria - The War Within

Tags Kofi Annan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, syria
3 days 9 hours ago - Turkey

The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) called on Monday for military intervention by Arab and Western governments to protect civilians from President Bashar al-Assad's forces.

George Sabra, a spokesman for the abroad-based SNC, said the opposition wanted humanitarian corridors, safe zones and a no-fly zone to be set up to stop attacks by Assad forces, adding that the SNC had taken a decision to help arm the rebel Free Syrian Army.

"We demand military intervention by Arab and Western countries to protect civilians. We demand establishment of
secured humanitarian corridors and zones to protect the civilians. We demand implementation of a no fly zone over entire Syria to prevent Assad from continuing massacres," Sabra told a news conference in Istanbul.

"We call for international military intervention to 'stop the genocide' in Syria."

Some foreign governments are already helping opposition Syrian National Council to arm the Free Syrian Army, Sabra added.

[Source: Reuters]

Read our news story for more detail and context: US and UN demand end to Syria bloodshed 

For the latest on the violence in Syria click here.

For more of Al Jazeera's special coverage visit our spotlight page: Syria - The War Within

Tags Free Syrian Army, syria, Syrian National Council, violence
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