Free Republic

The PKK terrorist organization has come to the brink of collapse thanks to the Turkish army’s continued military operations, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on April 19, while vowing that the anti-terror fight will endure determinately. “The collapse of the terrorist organizations PKK/PYD and YPG, which are no different from each other, is accelerating as a result of our determined struggle, with their ringleaders now openly expressing their organization’s disintegration,” Akar said, speaking at a conference in the northwestern province of Bursa. Akar said that they observed this “disintegration” in the walkie-talkie conversations of PKK members during the recent Operation...

Turkey’s Defence Minister Hulusi Akar criticised a statement by Syria's so-called People's Assembly that claimed Turkey's Hatay province as Syrian territory.Akar’s remarks came during military inspections together with top commanders of navy, ground and air forces in the southern Hatay province.Turkey has dismissed as "meaningless" a statement by Syria's so-called People's Assembly, which claimed the Turkish province of Hatay as belonging to Damascus.“We hear some reckless and meaningless statements about our province of Hatay,” Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Friday.Akar’s remarks came during military inspections together with top commanders of navy, ground and air forces in the southern Hatay...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Islamist ambitions seem to be seeking an international role in post-U.S. Afghanistan in alliance with the Taliban, Qatar, Pakistan and Malaysia. The trouble is, Turkey, among the new sharia alliance in the making, is the only country with institutional ties to the Western world. Biden has weakened himself and his country so badly that the superpower was reduced to the point of being blackmailed by NATO's only Islamist member. Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has made it clear: "If the U.S. is to be in the Middle East, it must cooperate with Turkey." Afghanistan is...

Tension is running high between Greece and Turkey. The cause? Turkish Chief of the General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar paid a visit to Imia, a pair of two small, uninhabited Greek islets in the Aegean Sea, on January 29. He was accompanied by the commanders of the Turkish land, naval and air forces.Imia – which Turkey calls “Kardak” – was a subject of yet another crisis in 1996 that brought Greece and Turkey to the brink of war. Although armed conflict was ultimately averted, Turkey still claims that the islands are Turkish, even though the islands in the Aegean are...

Turkey and Qatar have reiterated their support for Libya's internationally recognised government during a trip by their defence chiefs to the capital, Tripoli, where Germany's foreign minister also paid an unexpected visit... The country has been split since 2014 between factions based in the east and west, and regional powers have aligned themselves with the competing sides. While Turkey and its regional ally Qatar support the GNA, forces in the east led by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar have received backing from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia. "We believe that we will achieve the wanted results by supporting...

JEDDAH: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was warned on Sunday to keep his forces out of Libya or face an armed response. The warning came from Libya's eastern military strongman Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who leads the Libyan National Army (LNA) in the conflict with the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, headed by Fayez Al-Sarraj. Erdogan has sent Turkish-backed mercenaries from Syria to fight for the GNA, along with artillery and heavy weapons that have turned the tide in its favor. In a speech to troops to mark Eid Al-Adha, Haftar accused the Turkish president of "coming to Libya...

The votes being counted in Ireland today. Yesterday's projection as polls closed put the left-wing Sinn Fein Party in the top three of Irish political parties with its best showing yet in a southern Irish election. Early declared results show Sinn Fein a clear winner.... In Switzerland a law against "homophobia" projected to have won in a referendum..... More unusual activity related to Iowa's Democrat caucus last Monday. The Iowa Democratic Party today awarded the popular vote winner Bernie Sanders only 12 delegates to the national convention while the candidate who ran in second place, Pete Buttigieg, was given 14...