Turkey Archives - Voice of the Cape

Turkey supports Palestinian cause in ‘strongest way’, Erdogan says in meeting with Abbas

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that his government would not tolerate any attempt to change the historical status quo of Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem during a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, in Ankara. "As Turkiye, we continue to support the Palestinian cause in the strongest way possible. We are deeply concerned about the violence of illegal settlers," Erdogan said during a joint press conference. "We […]

26 July 2023

International

Turkey arrests three soldiers over the killing of Syrians at border

Turkish police arrested three soldiers on Saturday for their role in killing two Syrians at a border crossing in Hatay earlier this month. According to Turkish media outlets, eight Syrians entered Hatay in the south of Turkey on 11 March. A subsequent investigation found that the Syrians had been beaten by three soldiers. Two Syrians that were forced to drink diesel later died, while others testified to being tortured. Following the deaths, two lieutenants […]

20 March 2023

Local

GOTG rescue head recounts scenes after Turkey, Syria quakes

By: Aneeqa du Plessis The disastrous earthquakes that devastated southeastern Türkiye and Northern Syria earlier this month and again on February 20 calls for a dedicated and continued global humanitarian response. Speaking on VOC’s Breakfast show on Friday morning, Gift of the Givers team leader for search and rescue Ahmed Bham described the current state in Turkiye and Syria. “The devastation is at such a massive scale at the moment […]

24 February 2023

International

Turkey earthquake: World Bank estimated making homes safe would cost $465bn

The World Bank estimated in 2021 that retrofitting or rebuilding millions of residential buildings in Turkey to withstand an earthquake would cost almost half a trillion dollars. In December 2021, the Washington-based bank, which provides loans and grants to governments, said it was providing the Turkish government with "technical assistance" to help it meet the "massive financing needs" necessary to undertake the urgent work. The bank warned that "most housing stock in Turkish cities […]

16 February 2023

International

Turkey earthquake: Financial damage estimated to reach staggering $84bn

Twin earthquakes that have so far killed more than 30,000 people in Turkey and destroyed thousands of buildings could cost up to $84.1 billion - or about 10 percent of the country's GDP, a Turkish business group said. In a report published over the weekend, the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation estimated $70.75bn of the financial damage will be housing loss, $10.4bn from loss in national income, and $2.91bn in lost working days. The […]

14 February 2023

International

Rescuers toil on in rubble of Türkiye and Syria

Exhausted rescuers pulled dwindling numbers of survivors from earthquake rubble in Türkiye and Syria on Saturday five days after one of the region’s worst natural disasters whose death toll neared 26,000 and looked set to rise far higher. In Kahramanmaras, close to the epicentre in south Türkiye, there were fewer visible rescue operations amid the smashed concrete mounds of fallen houses and apartment blocks where trucks rumbled through streets shipping […]

12 February 2023

International

Dozens dead as powerful earthquake shakes Turkey, Syria

Syrian health ministry says more than 200 dead. Some 237 people have been killed and 639 injured in Syria in the powerful earthquake, assistant health minister Ahmed Dhamiriyeh has told state television. The affected swath of Syria is divided between government-held and opposition-held areas. In rebel-held northwest Syria, the opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense described the situation as “disastrous” adding that entire buildings have collapsed and people are trapped under the […]

6 February 2023

International

Erdogan warns Sweden on NATO bid after Quran burning protest

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Sweden that it should not expect his backing to join NATO following the burning of the Quran outside Ankara’s embassy in Stockholm during a protest. “Those who allow such blasphemy in front of our embassy [in Stockholm] can no longer expect our support for their NATO membership,” Erdogan said on Monday, in his first official response to the act by a far-right politician during a […]

24 January 2023

International

Turkey-Syria meeting: No deals made at the first high-level talks in 11 years

The first high-level meeting between Turkish and Syrian officials in Moscow last week was cordial but no deals have been made, multiple sources told Middle East Eye. The Turkish and Syrian defence ministers, along with their Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, met on Thursday, elevating contacts that had previously been held on a strictly intelligence level. Ministerial contacts between Syria and Turkey had not been held in 11 years. Turkey's defence ministry said the parties discussed the Syrian […]

3 January 2023

Turkey

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