Süleyman Soylu

President Tayyip Erdogan rejected the resignation on Sunday of Turkey's interior minister, who said he was stepping down in the wake of a short-notice coronavirus lockdown which sent people rushing to shops to stock up on supplies.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on April 13 that he will not leave office after his resignation decision was rejected by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on late April 12.

Nearly 64 million citizens spent the weekend at home after the government announced on April 10 a 48-hour curfew for a total of 31 provinces, including Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir in an effort to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Residents in some cities in the past couple of weekends hit the streets and flocked to parks dodging social distancing rules.

The Turkish health ministry on March 29 reported 1,815 new coronavirus cases, marking the country's largest daily increase in infections, and 23 additional deaths.

That raised the total number of known infections in the country to 9,217, while the death toll has reached 131, it said.

Turkish citizens, especially those living in metropolises, have been abiding by the "social isolation" principles laid out by the government, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has said, adding that almost 80 percent of life "stopped" in Turkey.

Turkey will seize factories of protective mask producers unless they agree to sell those devices to the government or companies, the interior minister has warned. 

"We have been trying to deal with this problem for the past two days," Soylu said in an interview on March 22 broadcast live on social media.

Turkey confirmed late on March 19 its fourth death related to the coronavirus and the country nearly doubled its confirmed cases to 359, from 191 a day earlier.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter that an 85-year-old woman died due to the novel coronavirus.

The European Union's high representative for foreign and security policies, Josep Borrell, has suggested to work with Turkey in addressing common challenges stemming from regional conflicts, as he met with Turkey's defense and interior minister late March 3.

Turkey has deported 7,918 foreign terrorists of 102 different nationalities so far, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Feb. 27.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Soylu stated that Turkey also banned the entry of over 90,000 foreigners affiliated with terrorist organizations. 

Germany and the Netherlands have pledged to accept ISIL members and their families captured by Turkey, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Nov. 13 as Ankara started to repatriate the fighters this week.