ANKARA: Turkey summoned the US ambassador on Monday to protest “aggressive behavior” by American security personnel and “security lapses” during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Washington last week.
The key visit was marred by bloody clashes that took place outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence after Erdogan met American counterpart Donald Trump.
US officials and police have blamed Erdogan’s bodyguards for the incident, accusing them of attacking a small group of pro-Kurdish protesters gathered outside the building and the incident ignited a storm of controversy.
Witnesses at the scene last week confirmed this account to AFP, and on Monday the US State Department did not back down in the face of Turkey’s complaint.
“We can confirm the Turkish foreign ministry convoked our ambassador to Turkey to discuss the violent incidents involving protesters and Turkish security personnel on May 16,” spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
“As we noted previously, the conduct of Turkish security personnel last week was deeply disturbing. The State Department has raised its concerns about those events at the highest levels,” she added.
Turkey blamed the violence on supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) who picked on pro-Erdogan US-based Turks.
The Turkish ministry summoned John Bass, American ambassador in Ankara, to deliver a “written and verbal protest” over “the aggressive and unprofessional actions taken.”
The ministry accused US security personnel of acting “contrary to diplomatic rules and practices... toward the close protection team” of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in front of the Turkish embassy chancery in Washington.
“It has been formally requested that the US authorities conduct a full investigation of this diplomatic incident and provide the necessary explanation,” it added.
The ministry said it told Bass there were “lapses of security” during Erdogan’s stay.
It hit out at “the inability of US authorities to take sufficient precautions at every stage of the official program.”
However, the ministry said it emphasized to Bass that this would not overshadow an otherwise “successful and important visit.”
US Senator John McCain said that the Turkish ambassador should be thrown “the hell out of the United States of America” after the fighting.
“This is Erdogan’s security detail. Somebody told them to go out there and beat up on these peaceful demonstrators,” McCain said Thursday.
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Turkey summons US envoy over ‘security lapses’ in Erdogan visit
Turkey summons US envoy over ‘security lapses’ in Erdogan visit
RSF drones strike Sudan’s eastern city of Sinja: military source
PORT SUDAN: Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces launched a drone strike Monday on an army base in the southeastern city of Sinja, a military source told AFP.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media, said RSF drones “targeted the headquarters of the army’s 17th Infantry Division in Sinja, the capital of Sennar state.”
Since April 2023, the civil war between the army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands and left around 11 million people displaced internally and across borders.
Sennar state has seen relative calm since the army recaptured key Sudanese cities in late 2024 in an offensive that later saw it regain the capital Khartoum.
The Sennar region was last targeted by drones in October.
One resident of Sinja told AFP on Monday that they “heard explosions and anti-aircraft fire.”
Sinja, which is located around 300 kilometers (180 miles) southeast of Khartoum, lies on a road linking army-controlled areas of eastern and central Sudan.
The strike comes a day after the army-aligned government said it had returned to Khartoum following three years operating from its eastern wartime capital of Port Sudan.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media, said RSF drones “targeted the headquarters of the army’s 17th Infantry Division in Sinja, the capital of Sennar state.”
Since April 2023, the civil war between the army and the RSF has killed tens of thousands and left around 11 million people displaced internally and across borders.
Sennar state has seen relative calm since the army recaptured key Sudanese cities in late 2024 in an offensive that later saw it regain the capital Khartoum.
The Sennar region was last targeted by drones in October.
One resident of Sinja told AFP on Monday that they “heard explosions and anti-aircraft fire.”
Sinja, which is located around 300 kilometers (180 miles) southeast of Khartoum, lies on a road linking army-controlled areas of eastern and central Sudan.
The strike comes a day after the army-aligned government said it had returned to Khartoum following three years operating from its eastern wartime capital of Port Sudan.
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