Free Republic

Assad's days are numbered according to Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. The news comes as Syrian government forces say they are preparing for a major push against the rebels in Aleppo on Friday. Speaking on Thursday the Turkish prime minister said that the Syrian President and his inner circle were on their way out which would usher in a new era. He also said that Turkey could act against a 'terrorist' organisation in northern Syria if it sees it as a threat. A warning to Kurdish militants thought to be operating in the region. In Moscow Russian Foreign Minister Sergei...

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday Turkey could act against a "terrorist" organisation in northern Syria if it sees it as a threat, in a warning to Kurdish militants believed to be active in the region. Erdogan's talk of possible intervention marked a new escalation in tensions between Turkey and its southern neighbour, which have been increasingly at odds since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad failed to heed Ankara's calls to quit... His comments were Ankara's first acknowledgement of concern about the growing influence of Syria's Democratic Union Party (PYD) - linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has...

Turkish news reports said on Friday that loans of the International Monetary Fund IMF the Turkish minister of the economy Kamal Darwish used to say it will arrive Turkey very soon in order to rescue the economy from its drastic recession, appeared to be used to rescue certain Israeli military industry companies instead of supporting the Turkish economy. The Turkish daily Millet said that it is expected that a sum of USD 700 million of the IMF loans will be transferred to the Israeli manufacturing company " AMA" and this loan will rescue the company from the drastic financial crisis ...

'Israeli spy planes flew over Budapest' Reports about Israeli spy planes entering Hungary follow mysterious killing of Syrian in Budapest Published: 03.18.10, 18:43 / Israel News Two Israeli aircraft appearing to be spy planes flew near Budapest's international airport last week but did not land there, Hungarian media reported Thursday. According to the reports, the planes were on a "spy mission" that may be connected to the assassination of a Syrian national in his vehicle Wednesday in the Hungarian capital. The two Gulfstream planes, reportedly equipped with the IDF's finest intelligence means, flew through Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania before entering...

On May 3, Moscow criticized Turkey’s plans to explore natural gas deposits around the divided island of Cyprus, under the protection of Turkish naval and air power. Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry’s chief spokesman, Aleksandr Lukashevich, cautioned Turkey that its actions “may exacerbate the situation on the territory of Cyprus” (Rossiskaya Gazeta, May 4). The Greek Cypriots and Israel are coordinating their plans to develop offshore gas deposits and export the product in partnerships with international companies. One export route under consideration would run via mainland Greece into Europe. The Republic of Cyprus, Greece and, recently, Israel are all involved in...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Turkey and Israel are looking for ways to normalize political relations, saying, “We want to restore relations with Turkey.” Netanyahu spoke to a group of Turkish journalists in Jerusalem and his comments were reported by the Turkish daily Today’s Zaman. “In a region where instability reigns, Israel and Turkey are two quite stable countries. I believe in [our] common interest,” Netanyahu told the journalists, adding that Turks and Jews have a long history. The newspaper noted that the conversation between Netanyahu and the Turkish journalists was the first time since the May...

Syria's rebels late Monday charged the regime has moved its chemical weapon stockpiles to airports and airbases on its borders with neighboring countries. “We in the joint command of the Free Syrian Army inside the country know very well the locations and positions of these weapons," Syria's largest rebel group said in a statement. “We also reveal that Assad has transferred some of these weapons and equipment for mixing chemical components to airports on the border,” it added. The move comes just one day after the embattled regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad warned it could use unconventional weapons if...

The European Union on Tuesday rejected Israel's request that it categorize Hizbullah as a terrorist organization. Cypriot Foreign Minister Gujarat Cossack-Marcolis, who presently holds the EU's rotating presidency, said "there is no consensus on the issue, because Hizbullah also has an active political arm." She added that the matter is open for reconsideration if "tangible evidence" that Hizbullah is involved in terrorist activity can be brought. .....

Popular Turk personality fires back, says Christians teamed with Satan A WND author’s bold claim that the biblical Antichrist will be Islamic has rankled one of the Mideast’s most dynamic personalities, prompting the creator of a TV show reportedly seen by millions to fire back that it’s not Muslims, but Christians who are “on the side of the Antichrist and Satan.” Adnan Oktar, who writes Islamic creationist books under the pen name Harun Yahya, is reported by Reuters to be one of the most widely distributed authors in the Muslim world, with a publishing empire that boasts over 250 books...

Syrian refugees started a riot in a Gaziantep refugee camp today, taking down the Turkish flag and replacing it with their own, DoÄŸan news agency reported. Syrian refugees at the site began protesting about the 1,500 Turkmen refugees that had been added to the camp, precipitating a verbal argument with security officials. The row soon escalated into a riot as hundreds of Syrians took Turkish police officers hostage and seized their guns. The Turkish flag at the entrance was taken down and refugees replaced it with their own. Syrian refugees also heavily damaged the central building nearby while destroying computers...

After the Syrian uprising began in spring 2011, Ankara took a firm stand against the Bashar al-Assad regime’s crackdown. Turkey adopted some tough rhetoric toward Assad and began offering refuge to members of the Syrian National Council (SNC) opposition group. Turkey also provided safe haven to Syrian refugees fleeing persecution, as well as hosting some members of the armed opposition group, the Free Syrian Army. Simultaneously, reports surfaced that Assad was re-allowing the PKK, which Damascus sheltered in the 1980s and the 1990s, to operate inside Syria. In March of this year, for example, the PKK was accused of moving...

While the rest of the Muslim world prepares for a Ramadan of fasting and festivities, in Syria, opposition fighters are gearing up for a month of fighting against the Bashar regime - a battle each side believes will bring an end to the other. “This will be a very special Ramadan in Syria,” 28-year-old Waleed al-Homsi* nods pensively. “By the end of this month, everything will be fine. No more revolution, no more Assad. A new Syria will be born.” Speak to any anti-regime activist like Waleed, and he or she will tell you the same thing. Riding a wave...

Other countries’ propagation of a stricter form of Islam in Albania is causing tensions with Christians and with other Muslims, a charity leader says. Peter Rettig, head of the South-East Europe Section of the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, said that young imams trained in Turkey and Saudi Arabia are spreading “a different form of Islam from what is customary” in Albania. The countries are strongly promoting the building of Islamic schools. “This is leading to tensions,” he told Aid to the Church in Need. The Catholic charity’s project partners have reported incidents that are “not dramatic”...

Cyprus is preparing to assist with the evacuation of as many as 200,000 European Union and third- country nationals in Syria if violence in the country escalates, the government said. “We have plans to enable the evacuation not only from Syria but also other countries in the area,” Foreign Minister Erato Kozakou-Markoulli told reporters in Nicosia today. People fleeing the upheaval will reach Cyprus “by plane or by boat and will remain in Cyprus 48 hours before they are transported to their country”. The plan is similar to the one applied in 2006, when 65,000 citizens from the EU and...

Syrian security forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad pounded rebel hideouts in Damascus today in retaliation for the blast that killed three top anti- insurgency leaders. The troops used helicopters and heavy artillery against the rebels, while snipers took up positions on rooftops on the outskirts of the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in an e-mailed statement. “The regime has gone mad,” Rima Flaihan, spokeswoman for the Local Coordination Committees in Syria, said in a telephone interview today from Jordan. “The regime is in a horrid state of savagery, seeking revenge for the killings of the military...

Syrian rebels took control of all border crossings between Iraq and Syria on Thursday, Baghdad's deputy interior minister told AFP. "All the border points between Iraq and Syria are under the control of the Free Syrian Army," Adnan al-Assadi told AFP by telephone. "The border points and all the outposts are under the control of the Free Syrian Army. "The Syrian army are focusing on Damascus." Assadi also said there was fighting under way between the Syrian army and rebels across the border from the northern Iraqi region of Sinjar. The top official said Iraqi border guards had witnessed the...

Rebels attacked Syrian forces Thursday on two spots along the nation's porus border with Iraq, killing 21 soldiers and seizing control of one of the four major border posts, a senior Iraqi army official said. The assaults against Syria's government unfolded throughout the day, putting the Iraqi army on high alert to prevent any violence from spilling across the border. "We have security concerns because the border crossing now is out of the Syria government's control, and nobody can anticipate what will happen," said Iraqi Army Brig. General Qassim al-Dulaimi. Al-Duliami said about a half-dozen rebels stormed the Syrian border...

SNIPPET: "Google removed 640 videos from YouTube in the second half of last year amid fears they promoted terrorism. The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) made a request for five user accounts to be closed for allegedly promoting terrorism. Google agreed and deleted the 640 videos."

Turkey has exchanged nearly 60 tons of gold for several million tons of Iranian crude oil, despite its promises to uphold Western sanctions on Iran’s energy sector, according to recent Turkish reports. By using gold instead of money, Turkey is able to skirt Western sanctions on Iran’s oil trade, particularly those pertaining to SWIFT, the global money transfer service that until recently assisted the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian financial institutions. Over the past several months, Turkey has given Iran 60 tons of gold, or more than $3 billion, according to a July 8 report on the Turkish...

Syrian helicopters bombarded a Damascus suburb on Monday and Turkey scrambled warplanes near the border in the north, as the UN human rights chief warned that arms supplied to both the government and rebels were deepening the 16-month conflict. Fighting has come to the gates of the capital in recent weeks and is also raging throughout the country as the battle to unseat President Bashar al-Assad increasingly takes on the character of an all-out civil war, fuelled by sectarian hatred. Syrian government forces have launched an assault on Douma, a city on the edge of Damascus where they stormed a...