Tag Archives: Turkey

Russia Violated Turkish Airspace Again, Also Sends Ground Troops into Syria

NATO’s secretary confirmed on Tuesday that Russian planes had violated Turkish airspace a second time and that Russian ground troops were in Syria.

Officials reported that the first violation took place on Saturday, and the second violation took place on Sunday. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also confirmed the latest updates.

“We also have seen two of them, two violations of Turkish airspace,” he said. “Intelligence that we have received provides me with reason to say it doesn’t look like an accident.”

Turkey’s air force also issued a statement that said an MiG-29 fighter jet of unknown nationality interfered with eight Turkish F-16s on the Turkey-Syria border on Monday. The Turkish planes were also under a radar lock for 4 minutes and 30 seconds.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Russia that the situation could escalate quickly if their actions continued. Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952, and alliance rules state that any attack on one of the 28 member states would be treated as an attack on all.

“Any attack on Turkey is an attack on NATO,” Erdogan said. “If Russia loses a friend like Turkey with whom it has cooperated on many issues, it will lose a lot.”

Russia continues to claim that the airspace violations were mistakes and that their intentions in Syria is to take down the Islamic terrorist organization, ISIS also known as ISIL. U.S. officials question Russia’s motives as the Kremlin continues to target places in Syria where ISIS has not been active. They believe that Russia’s intentions are to bolster the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. However, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that within the last 24 hours, Russia has launched at least 34 airstrikes in areas controlled by ISIS, killing at least 38 members of ISIS and destroying an arms depot.

NATO defense ministers will meet on Thursday to discuss the actions of the Russian military in Syria.

Turkey Intercepts Russian Fighter Plane for Airspace Violation

Tensions are rising between Turkey and Russia as officials reported on Monday that Syria had intercepted a Russian fighter plane after it violated Turkish airspace near the Syrian border.

The incident occurred Saturday in the Yaladagi region of Turkey’s southern Hatay province. The Russian plane was intercepted by two F-16s of the Turkish air force. Immediately after the situation, Turkey summoned Russia’s ambassador to protest the violation and warn Russia not to repeat the same mistake in order to keep the situation from escalating.

The Anadolu news agency quoted Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu: “Whoever violates our airspace, our rules of engagement are clear,” he said. “We will warn whoever violates our borders and our airspace in a friendly manner. This country can be whichever and Russia is our neighbor, our friend. In this way, there is no tension between Turkey and Russia. The Syria issue is not a Turkish-Russian crisis,” he said.

However, Turkey and Russia are at odds in Syria concerning their position on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey believes al-Assad should step down from his position for the conflict to end while Russia supports al-Assad.

NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, met Davutoglu on Monday. He stated that the Russian violation of Turkish airspace was unacceptable and an emergency meeting regarding the issue would take place later in the day.

“Russia’s actions are not contributing to the security and stability of the region,” Stoltenberg said. “I call on Russia to fully respect Nato airspace and to avoid escalating tensions.”

U.S. officials believe the Turkish airspace violation was deliberate and the kind of unpredictable act they have feared since Russia began building up its military presence in Syria last month.

“I don’t believe this was an accident,” said a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss deliberations with Turkey and other NATO allies. “This is exactly the type of unprofessional, non-professional incident we were hoping to avoid.”

According to Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia is currently looking into reports of the violation, but at this time, Russia has made no further comment regarding the issue.

Bulgaria Places Troops on Turkish Border

Bulgaria announced they are sending their military to secure the border with Turkey as migrants continue to flood into the nation.

“There is a change in the situation in the past few days and it is hard to predict where the refugee wave will head…so we are standing ready,” Defence Minister Nikolay Nenchev told public BNR radio.

Nenchev said up to 1,000 troops could end up along the border.

The chief secretary to the interior ministry told reporters that around 660 migrants tried to illegally cross the nation’s border but turned back after they discovered it was heavily guarded.

Bulgaria is not the only nation bordering Turkey facing migrant problems.

Greece is blocking migrants at their border with Turkey, resulting in protests from the migrants who depend to be allowed to cross.  Many are refusing the food given out by a Turkish agency and say they will conduct a hunger strike until they get their desires.

“We are not going back,” Ahmed El Latif told the AP. “Either we all die here or we will go to Greece.”

Turkish Construction Workers Kidnapped by Terrorists

A group of masked terrorists kidnapped 14 Turkish construction workers from a site in Baghdad early Wednesday.

Iraqi and Turkish officials say the gunmen stormed the complex around 3 a.m. when the workers were sleeping.  They specifically targeted the Turkish workers and separated them from the others before forcing them into SUVs.

“The Iraqi authorities for the time being do not have information on how the incident occurred or who captured them,” Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus told reporters.

The gunmen were reportedly wearing military uniforms.

Local officials told Time that it’s likely the kidnappings were revenge because of Turkey recently agreeing to allow the U.S. to use their bases for drone strikes against ISIS.

The workers had almost finished construction on a sports complex that includes a 30,000 seat soccer stadium.

Turkish President in China

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in China for an official state visit.

Erdogan will be meeting in Beijing with his counterpart, Xi Jinping.

The visit is the first for Erdogan since his election as president in 2014 and the first since Turkey agreed to work with the U.S. to eliminate terrorist group ISIS in parts of Syria.

Erdogan traveled to China with around 100 business owners and leaders in what’s expected to be a discussion of trade deals.  The trade between the two nations has reached about $24 billion a year.

However, some believe that the current Syrian crisis will cause Erdogan to try and purchase a long-range missile system which has been a source of concern to Turkey’s fellow NATO members.

Turkey and China have also had issues regarding illegal immigration in southeast Asia of Muslims.  Last month, there were protests in Turkey after a group of Muslims illegally crossed from China to Thailand and then were returned to China.

“It’s quite obvious that the current Turkish government is supporting illegal immigration of Uighurs by giving them passports and working with Southeast Asian countries,” said Yin Gang an expert on the Middle East with the government-supported Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “It would be hard for the relationship between China and Turkey to improve significantly unless Turkey makes serious promises on that issue.”

Wisconsin Man Accused of Attempting To Join ISIS

A Madison, Wisconsin man has been arrested on charges that he tried to travel to the middle east to join Islamic terrorist group ISIS.

Joshua Van Haften, 34, made his first appearance in federal court Thursday and did not attempt to contest his being held without bond.

Van Haften was arrested Wednesday night at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago and returning from Turkey.  Federal investigators said that Van Haften talked to people about his desire to join ISIS before he left for Instanbul, Turkey in August.

The federal complaint says that Van Haften posted on Facebook that he was not able to cross the border from Turkey into Syria.  He also said that the people who claimed to be able to help him just stole his money and left him on a country road.

Van Haften has a long criminal record, including convictions for battery and sexual assault.  He spent over seven years in prison on the sexual assault conviction after his eight year probation was revoked in 2000.

Van Haften’s lawyer says that his client looks forward to “having all the facts brought to light.”

Air Force Veteran Charged With Attempting To Join ISIS

A U.S. Air Force veteran is jailed on charges of attempting to join the Islamic terrorist group ISIS.

Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh is facing charges of attempting to provide material support to terrorists and providing resources to a terrorist organization.  He also was charged with obstruction of justice for destroying thumb drives containing evidence of his online interaction with the terrorist group.

Pugh had lost his job as an airplane mechanic, which was based in the middle east.  After the job loss, he traveled from Egypt to Turkey with the intent of sneaking into Syria.

“Pugh, an American citizen and former member of our military, allegedly abandoned his allegiance to the United States and sought to provide material support to ISI[S],” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin said. “Identifying and bringing to justice individuals who provide or attempt to provide material support to terrorists is a key priority of the National Security Division.”

U.S. intelligence officials say that at least 150 Americans are fighting with the terrorist group in Iraq and Syria.

ISIS Trafficker Charged With Forcing Girls Into Prostitution

A man engaged in human trafficking for ISIS forcing Syrian refugee children into prostitution has been arrested by Turkish authorities.

Ahmet Yumusak, 29, was captured by Turkish authorities who were investigating an attack on a soldier and police officer that took place last year.  During the investigation, they had Yumusak approach them to discuss paying for sex with underage Syrian refugee girls that were under control of ISIS.

After this arrest, authorities discovered he was sending young girls into Syria to be abused and married off to ISIS terrorists.

Authorities say they are unable to determine the total number of young girls that were forced into ISIS control by Yumusak but the number is well into the hundreds.

Police say that Yumusak also worked as a conduit for western girls and women that wanted to join the terrorist group.

2015 Word of the Lord

Seeking the Lord for a word for the new year is always a very serious pursuit and this year is even more crucial as we see the “red lights of prophecy” flashing all around us and God’s plan unfolding at breakneck speed. The Lord began to speak to me while we were in Israel, and the word that I give to you I sincerely pray will resonate with your spirit and cause you to be more prepared for these times we see looming on the horizon. Remember that in the midst of all the turmoil there is a promise of His Return and that is cause for great rejoicing! Continue reading →

Turkey Allows First New Church Since 1923

The last time Turkey allowed a new church to be built, Time Magazine was publishing its first issue, Warner Brothers established their movie studio and President Warren Harding was succeeded by Calvin Coolidge.

The Syriac Christian church will be built not far from Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic churches in a suburb of Istanbul.  Until this new construction was approved, the only construction allowed by the government was refurbishing established church buildings.

Only about 100,000 of the 80 million people in Turkey are Christian.

The move is seen as mainly political.  Turkey has been under fire from the European Union after an ancient Byzantine church was converted into a mosque and all traces of Christian history wiped from the building.

The ruling party in Turkey has been working to align themselves with other Muslim-majority nations in the Middle East.