Yerlikaya

Turkish security forces have apprehended over 1,600 suspects in operations conducted nationwide within a week, targeting individuals carrying unlicensed firearms, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Nov. 7.

The operation spanned all 81 provinces of the country, resulting in the seizure of 2,274 firearms, Yerlikaya said on a X post.

The Interior Ministry will soon present a legislative proposal to the parliament aimed at imposing harsher and more deterrent penalties on those carrying unlicensed firearms, Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced.

Ankara and Baghdad have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at facilitating the voluntary return of Iraqi citizens from Türkiye, according to the Turkish Interior Ministry.

Maritime Affairs Minister Christos Stylianides and Turkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya discussed migration in a phone call on Tuesday. 

According to a statement from the Greek ministry, the conversation took place in a cordial atmosphere, with both sides reaffirming their commitment to strengthening collaboration. 

The Minister of Maritime Policy Christos Stylianides and Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya had a telephone conversation at noon on Tuesday (1/10).

Their communication is part of the cooperation between the two sides on the management of migration flows.

Turkish authorities said on Sept. 26 they have expressed their strong disapproval to Greece "at all levels and in the strongest terms" over recent territorial water violations in the Aegean Sea.

"Claims that the necessary steps were not taken following the violations do not reflect the truth," read a statement issued by Türkiye's Foreign Ministry.

The Turkish Minister of Interior and Migration expressed his disapproval regarding a Greek Coast Guard vessel entering Turkish territorial waters, stating that “behaviors aimed at violating our territorial waters cannot be accepted.”

Specifically, in a post on the platform “X,” Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote the following:

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has expressed Ankara's growing discontent over recent violations of Turkish territorial waters by the Greek Coast Guard during its operations targeting migrant boats.

The Gendarmerie units discovered the body of 8-year-old Narin Güran in a stream bed in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Sept. 8, 19 days after the initial missing person report, though details regarding the perpetrator remain unclear.

The incident unfolded on the afternoon of Aug. 21 when Güran did not return home after leaving a course in the Bağlar district.

The Turkish Coast Guard Command on Monday reported the rescue of 59 irregular migrants in the Aegean Sea, including 23 who were forcibly pushed back by Greece.

Among those rescued were 10 children, found adrift on a rubber boat pushed back by Greek authorities into Turkish waters near Karaburun, a district in the western province of İzmir.