Tensions rise as Turkiye talks normalization with Syria

Syrians take part in the funeral procession of a man killed during clashes with Turkish troops, in Afrin in northern Syria on July 2, 2024. (AFP)
Syrians take part in the funeral procession of a man killed during clashes with Turkish troops, in Afrin in northern Syria on July 2, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 03 July 2024
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Tensions rise as Turkiye talks normalization with Syria

Syrians take part in the funeral procession of a man killed during clashes with Turkish troops, in Afrin in northern Syria.
  • The events re-opened the debate on refugees and over Ankara’s ties with its war-torn neighbor
  • Both Syrian President Bashar Assad and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently signaled a willingness to mend their fractured relations

ANKARA: Tensions continue to rise amid Turkiye’s normalization efforts with Syria after attacks were carried out on Syrian refugees in the country and Turkish flags were targeted in northern Syria.
The events re-opened the debate on refugees and over Ankara’s ties with its war-torn neighbor.
Both Syrian President Bashar Assad and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently signaled a willingness to mend their fractured relations.
This comes after Turkiye reopened the Abu Al-Zandeen crossing near Al-Bab, establishing commercial connections between Turkish-controlled zones and regime-held areas in eastern Aleppo. Additionally, efforts are underway to widen the Hajjez Al-Shatt highway in Turkish-held Azaz, linking Aleppo to the Turkish border city of Gaziantep.
Turkiye also controls a buffer zone in northern Syria. However, the normalization efforts and the reopening of trade routes have ignited tensions in northern Syria.

BACKGROUND

Turkiye hosts about 3.1 million Syrian refugees, according to official data, and one motivation behind Ankara’s renewed dialogue with Damascus is the potential facilitation of refugee repatriation.

In recent days, anger has boiled over, with attacks targeting Turkish flags and trucks. Many Syrians in Turkish-controlled zones are demanding the withdrawal of Turkish forces, exacerbating the already volatile situation.
Reports indicate that Turkish-trained forces have even been filmed shooting at Turkish armored vehicles, prompting Turkiye to deploy additional troops to the region to maintain control.
The unrest is not confined to northern Syria. In Turkiye, tensions flared after a Syrian national allegedly harassed a Syrian child, sparking overnight violence in several cities, beginning in Kayseri. People were heard shouting: “We don’t want any more Syrians,” and “we don’t want any more foreigners.”
Turkish authorities detained 474 people for attacking Syrian-owned vehicles and shops. Simultaneously, approximately 79,000 social media accounts on X were identified for inciting violence.
Turkiye hosts about 3.1 million Syrian refugees, according to official data, and one motivation behind Ankara’s renewed dialogue with Damascus is the potential facilitation of refugee repatriation.
However, under dire economic conditions, with inflation in Turkiye running at 75 percent, Syrian refugees are often scapegoated and targeted by locals. In 2021, several refugees were targeted in Ankara after two Turkish citizens were allegedly stabbed by a Syrian.
Following the incident in Kayseri, Erdogan condemned the anti-Syrian riots, stating: “Turkiye is not and will not be a state that abandons its friends. We will proudly wear the medal of honor of being host to Syrian refugees in their most difficult days. Just as we know how to break the corrupt hands that reach out to our flag, we also know how to break the hands that reach out to the oppressed who take refuge in our country.”
Erdogan also criticized the opposition’s “poisonous” rhetoric about refugees. “Burning people’s homes, relatives, or setting fire to the streets is unacceptable, no matter who they are,” he declared.
The president’s remarks came on the same day he met Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al-Saud in Ankara.
Omar Kadkoy, program coordinator at Heinrich Boll Stiftung, explained that the policy solution to the violence over the past few years had involved relocating Syrians to provinces with lower refugee populations and closing new registrations in over 1,200 neighborhoods across several cities.




A man rides a motorcycle near a burning Turkish truck during protest sagainst Turkiye in Al-Bab, northern Syrian opposition-held region of Aleppo, on July 1, 2024. (AFP)

However, Kadkoy noted that the events in Kayseri underscore the policy’s failure.
“It is becoming harder for Turks and Syrians alike to make ends meet. Under similar conditions, almost universally, a tendency to blame others emerges. The same applies in Turkiye. Therefore, implementing humane, sustainable and respecting international law and human rights migration policy under a declining purchasing power due to high inflation is rather difficult.
Kadkoy emphasized that the recent riots in northern Syria are not solely due to Turkiye’s normalization efforts.
“The recent unrest in northern Syria is not exclusive to Turkiye’s statement about normalization with Syria a few days ago. One reason is the recent opening of an internal crossing, Abu Al-Zandeen, with Turkish-Russian consensus. The crossing connects Al-Bab in eastern Aleppo, (the) Euphrates Shield Zone, with the Syrian government in western Aleppo. The step generated reaction as the opening of the crossing meant dealing politically with the Syrian government — a taboo still in the northwest. Another reason has to do with Syrians’ long-standing discontent about the overall living conditions in the area. A third reason reflects Syrians’ dissatisfaction with the Syrian opposition’s failure to produce a democratic environment. Lastly, the violence in Kayseri where Syrians were subject to collective punishment over an alleged Syrian’s crime was that final straw the set off everything.”
Turkiye remains committed to UN Security Council resolutions that advocate for the voluntary, safe, and dignified return of refugees to Syria. However, experts caution that current conditions are far from meeting these standards.
Metin Corabatir, president of the Ankara-based Research Center on Asylum and Migration, said that any repatriation could only materialize after free and fair elections and the drafting of a new constitution in Syria, as mandated by the Security Council.
“Syrians in Turkiye feel very bad and unsafe after these incidents. Even Syrians with Turkish citizenship are living under the same fear. There is a horrifying hate speech that is becoming increasingly widespread. Political parties and some respected journalists are also fueling it. If this continues to spread, refugees will have nowhere to run, and their safety will be compromised,” Corabatir told Arab News.
Corabatir argues that the solution to the refugee crisis lies not in repatriation but in clarifying the legal status of refugees as they are still registered with “temporary protection” in the country.
“The anti-Syrian sentiment has turned into racism that vilifies Arabs. At this stage, at the very least, Erdogan and Ozgur Ozel, the leader of the main opposition CHP, need to come together and resolve this issue in cooperation,” he said.
Although Ankara has received billions of dollars in funding from international donors over the past decade, primarily from the EU to provide health care, education and employment opportunities for Syrians in the country, experts note that these projects are still a drop in the ocean to ensure a sustainable local integration especially amid deteriorating economic conditions.
Corabatir called for a tripartite agreement under UN supervision to facilitate the repatriation of refugees once safe conditions are established.
Zakira Hekmat, president of the Afghan Refugees Solidarity Association in Turkiye, resides in Kayseri. “Three Afghan youngsters were recently killed in Kayseri. There has been an organized anti-refugee sentiment in the region for a long time. We have been advising our community to remain silent during these chaotic times. People have come to our neighborhood and demolished shops. For the past three days, we have stayed in our homes out of fear. Many people cannot even buy bread and water. This situation will eventually impact the Turkish economy. Syrians, despite having work permits, cannot go to the shops in the industrial zone where they are employed.”
Pro-government journalist Abdulkadir Selvi suggested on Wednesday that Erdogan may meet Assad on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Astana on 3-4 July as part of the new Turkiye-Syria rapprochement bid. However, there has been no official statement confirming any plans for such high-level backstage diplomacy.


Lebanese government expected to win vote of confidence

Lebanese government expected to win vote of confidence
Updated 13 sec ago
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Lebanese government expected to win vote of confidence

Lebanese government expected to win vote of confidence
  • Lebanon will remain a bridge between East and West, Aoun assures Francophone ambassadors
  • President to hold Saudi talks next week once MPs endorse ‘rescue and reform’ plan

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam will seek parliamentary approval for his government during sessions scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

A political observer predicted that Salam’s government — operating under the slogan “Government of Rescue and Reform,” could secure up to 100 votes out of the 128-member parliament.

Winning the vote of confidence will allow Salam’s Cabinet to commence its sessions to make major decisions, including on appointments to the Lebanese Central Bank, the security forces, the judiciary and the general directorates within various government ministries.

Currently, 63 MPs have requested to speak during the parliamentary debates.

Opposing votes will likely be limited to MPs from the Free Patriotic Movement bloc, which is not represented in the government and has positioned itself in opposition, along with a few reformist MPs.

A source from the presidential palace told Arab News on Monday that President Joseph Aoun would schedule foreign visits once Salam’s government wins the confidence vote.

One of the most significant foreign trips is a visit to Saudi Arabia next week, following an official invitation.

A ministerial delegation will accompany the president to discuss bilateral relations and avenues for cooperation in Saudi Arabia.

The source indicated that the visit will be confirmed on Thursday after the confidence vote.

On Monday, Aoun addressed a delegation of ambassadors from Francophone countries, saying that Lebanon will remain a bridge between East and West.

“French, the second language after Arabic in Lebanon, represents culture, dialogue, modernity, and values,” he told the ambassadors.

Salam, meanwhile, told a delegation from the diplomatic corps that his government “commits to restoring Lebanon’s standing among its Arab brethren and ensuring that it does not serve as a platform for attacks on Arab and friendly nations.”

Elsewhere, the speech delivered by Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem on Sunday at the funeral ceremonies for former leaders Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine elicited mixed political reactions.

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert emphasized the necessity of commencing the “actual implementation of UN Resolution 1701 now on both sides of the Blue Line, as well as beyond the banks of the Litani River.”

The UN official added that “in Lebanon specifically, all necessary elements are present to achieve this, including a commitment to ensure that conflict does not return. However, the success of this process relies on its inclusivity, as each party has a fundamental role to play.”

Lebanese Forces MP Fadi Karam, meanwhile, warned that Hezbollah “is not yet prepared to relinquish control to the Lebanese state.”

He said the group was “attempting to navigate this challenging phase with minimal damage and losses while waiting for an unlikely breakthrough.

“The state must be solely responsible for establishing full national sovereignty over Lebanese territory,” he said.

“It must be the only authority to engage in negotiations, monopolize the use of weapons, liberate its land, and safeguard all of its borders.

“However, if Sheikh Qassim remains hard-headed and refuses to surrender the party’s weapons south and north of the Litani River, then any reconstruction plan will fail,” he added.

 


365 Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in West Bank refugee camps since mid-January

365 Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in West Bank refugee camps since mid-January
Updated 24 February 2025
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365 Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in West Bank refugee camps since mid-January

365 Palestinians arrested by Israeli forces in West Bank refugee camps since mid-January
  • Some detainees subjected to threats, beatings, investigations
  • Rights group says homes in Jenin, Tulkarem turned into military positions

LONDON: Israeli forces have detained 365 Palestinians in the occupied northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Tulkarem since mid-January, according to a rights group affiliated with the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian Prisoners Society documented the arrest of 365 people following the Israeli launch of a military campaign in Jenin on Jan. 21, just days after a ceasefire and captives-exchange deal was reached with Hamas in Gaza.

The group said that during 35 days of Israeli operations in the Jenin refugee camp, at least 200 individuals were detained, while in Tulkarem, 165 people were arrested, including children, women and the elderly.

Israeli forces deployed tanks this week to the Jenin refugee camp after displacing nearly 20,000 people, along with another 20,000 Palestinians from Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps, and said it planned to keep forces in these areas “for many months.”

The PPS said Israeli forces had turned Palestinian homes in Jenin and Tulkarem into military positions, deployed snipers on the rooftops of buildings and used bulldozers to destroy roads and infrastructure.

Some of those detained were subject to threats, beatings and field investigations, it said.

Since late 2023, nearly 900 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. At least 32 Israelis have died from Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations during the same period, according to official figures.


Red Cross says ‘deeply concerned’ with impact of Israeli operation in West Bank

Israeli tanks are deployed during an ongoing army operation in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP)
Israeli tanks are deployed during an ongoing army operation in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP)
Updated 24 February 2025
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Red Cross says ‘deeply concerned’ with impact of Israeli operation in West Bank

Israeli tanks are deployed during an ongoing army operation in the West Bank Jenin refugee camp, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. (AP)

JERUSALEM: The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed on Monday its concern over the impact of a weeks-long Israeli offensive in the occupied West Bank that has displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians.
“The International Committee of the Red Cross is deeply concerned with the impact of ongoing security operations on the civilian population in Jenin and Tulkarem, Tubas and other locations in northern West Bank,” it said in a statement, adding that “people are struggling to access basic needs such as clean water, food, medical care and shelter.”


Bahraini military commander-in-chief reviews defense ties with UK ambassador

Bahraini military commander-in-chief reviews defense ties with UK ambassador
Updated 24 February 2025
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Bahraini military commander-in-chief reviews defense ties with UK ambassador

Bahraini military commander-in-chief reviews defense ties with UK ambassador
  • Field Marshal Khalifa highlights historic relationship between the kingdoms
  • Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Theyab bin Saqr Al-Nuaimi attended the meeting

LONDON: Field Marshal Sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, commander-in-chief of the Bahrain Defence Force, reviewed historical and defense ties with Alastair Long, the UK ambassador to Manama.

Several senior military officials from Bahrain attended the meeting, including Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Theyab bin Saqr Al-Nuaimi and Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, an adviser for financial and technical affairs at General Command.

Khalifa highlighted the historic relationship between Bahrain and the UK during his meeting with Long, and outlined developments in various sectors, according to the Bahrain News Agency.


Morocco foils attacks by cell loyal to Daesh

Morocco’s counterterrorism agency said on Monday it had foiled attacks against targets in the country by a cell loyal to Daesh.
Morocco’s counterterrorism agency said on Monday it had foiled attacks against targets in the country by a cell loyal to Daesh.
Updated 24 February 2025
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Morocco foils attacks by cell loyal to Daesh

Morocco’s counterterrorism agency said on Monday it had foiled attacks against targets in the country by a cell loyal to Daesh.
  • Suspects, arrested in nine cities, had been receiving orders from a Libyan leader of Daesh, the head of Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations said

RABAT: Morocco’s counterterrorism agency said on Monday it had foiled attacks against national and international targets in the country by a 12-member cell loyal to Daesh in the Sahel.
The operation underscores the threat emanating from extremist militancy in the Sahel, as groups linked to Daesh and Al-Qaeda expand activity in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
The suspects, arrested in nine different cities, had been receiving orders from a Libyan leader of Daesh, the head of Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations, Habboub Cherkaoui, told reporters.
The suspects, aged 18 to 40, have been radicalized online, Cherkaoui said, adding that most of them had “occasional jobs.”
The group, which branded itself “the Lions of the Caliphate in the Maghreb Al Aqsa (Morocco),” was planning remotely controlled bomb attacks, he said.
Explosive devices and chemical substances were found during the operation, in addition to a weapons cache including automatic firearms and handguns, in the south-eastern region of Errachidia near the Algerian borders, Cherkaoui said.
The seized weapons and ammunition had been supplied by the Daesh leader via smugglers, he said. The operation “confirms that the African branches of IS tend to internationalize their activities,” Cherkaoui said, adding that the nexus between “terrorist groups and criminal networks is a real threat” to Morocco and Europe.

In recent years, Daesh branches in Africa have recruited more than 130 Moroccan fighters, Cherkaoui said. Since its establishment in 2015, the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations has dismantled dozens of militant cells and arrested more than 1,000 suspected extremists.
The last extremist attack in the country was in 2023, when three individuals loyal to Daesh killed a Moroccan policeman in Casablanca.