Syria

Reporters Without Borders has denounced the Turkish government’s management of the crisis in Iraq, slamming the “censorship” on the coverage of the kidnapping of 80 Turkish citizens near Mosul by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants.

The number of Syrians who are housed in refugee camps and cities in neighbouring Turkey has reached 1.05 million, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay told a news conference on Thursday.
   
Ankara has maintained an "open border" policy to refugees fleeing the conflict between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebels in Syria.

Mardin: “When I took office here two years ago,” said the coordinator governor in charge of refugees, Veysel Dalmaz, “There were about 50,000 Syrian refugees in the camps.” As of fall of 2012, Syrians who have entered Turkey, but are living outside the camps are estimated to be in the band of 15,000 to 20,000.” 

By Lina Giannarou

Jamal and Amira worked together at a bank in Damascus, Syria. They were young and their dream was just to be together for the rest of their lives. All that changed one day when Jamal was kidnapped on his way to work. Abductions are not rare in war-torn Syria. The two did not want to leave the city, but they were left with no other choice.

Kızıltepe / Mardin: I had never seen a child suffering from meningitis before. He was lying motionless on a bed made up on the floor at the corner of the room. His eyes were fixed at the ceiling; there was no movement in his eyes. I could not understand during the 10 minutes I was in the room whether he noticed me or not.

The Netherlands has given Turkey a list of 100 possible militants who might travel to Syria to fight against regime forces, according to a report by Dutch daily Volkskrant.

An Islamic charity organization based in an Istanbul suburb is using an insignia adopted by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), daily HaberTürk has reported.

The report comes amid claims that some Turkish associations were recruiting militants for the jihadist group who have recently launched a wide-scale offensive in Iraq.

“It is always very difficult to do business in Iraq. But we sensed something more extraordinary happening in the field a week prior to the advance of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) to Mosul,” a friend who is doing business in Iraq told me. “Everyone was saying ‘a crisis is coming,’” said a Turkish official who has knowledge of the developments.

Turkey has the right to stage a military operation in Mosul according to international law, according to Rıza Türmen, a deputy for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), who added that the CHP could support a motion for such a military operation.

Syria's army said on June 15 it had recaptured the strategic town of Kassab, near the only border crossing with Turkey in Latakia province, after it fell to rebels almost three months ago.