ISTANBUL: The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned statements by Greek officials and a flag-burning protest in Greece after the first Islamic prayers in nine decades were held at Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia.
“Greece showed once again its enmity toward Islam and Turkey with the excuse of reacting to Hagia Sophia Mosque being opened to prayers,” ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said in a written statement.
Greek criticism of the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque after decades as a museum has been scathing, underlining tense ties between Greece and Turkey. Church bells tolled in mourning across Greece on Friday as Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan joined prayers at the building.
In a message marking Greece’s 46th anniversary of the restoration of democracy, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called Turkey a “troublemaker,” and the conversion an “affront to civilization of the 21st century.”
Friday’s ceremony sealed Erdogan’s ambition to restore Muslim worship at the ancient site, which most Greeks consider as central to their Orthodox Christian religion.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said it strongly condemned hostile statements by the Greek government and parliament members to stir up the public, and the burning of a Turkish flag in the Greek city of Thessaloniki.
Hagia Sophia was opened to prayer as a mosque in line with the will of the Turkish people and belonged to Turkey like all cultural assets in the country, it added.
Greece and Turkey disagree on a range of issues from airspace to maritime zones and ethnically split Cyprus. This week they also exchanged barbs over the delimitation of their continental shelves in the eastern Mediterranean, an area thought to be rich in natural resources.
Turkey condemns Greek reaction to Hagia Sophia prayers
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Turkey condemns Greek reaction to Hagia Sophia prayers
- Greek criticism of the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque after decades as a museum has been scathing
- Greece and Turkey disagree on a range of issues from airspace to maritime zones and ethnically split Cyprus
WHO alarmed by health workers, civilians ‘forcibly detained’ in Sudan
- The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency
GENEVA: The World Health Organization voiced alarm Tuesday at reports that more than 70 health workers and around 5,000 civilians were being detained in Nyala in southwestern Sudan.
Since April 2023, Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a brutal conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 12 million more and devastated infrastructure.
“We are concerned by reports from Nyala, the capital of Sudan’s South Darfur state, that more than 70 health care workers are being forcibly detained along with about 5,000 civilians,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
“According to the Sudan Doctors Network, the detainees are being held in cramped and unhealthy conditions, and there are reports of disease outbreaks,” the UN health agency chief said.
The RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North faction allied earlier this year, forming a coalition based in Nyala.
“WHO is gathering more information on the detentions and conditions of those being held. The situation is complicated by the ongoing insecurity,” said Tedros.
“The reported detentions of health workers and thousands more people is deeply concerning. Health workers and civilians should be protected at all times and we call for their safe and unconditional release.”
The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency.
In total, the WHO has recorded 65 attacks on health care in Sudan this year, resulting in 1,620 deaths and 276 injuries. Of those attacks, 54 impacted personnel, 46 impacted facilities and 33 impacted patients.
Earlier Tuesday, UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was “alarmed by the further intensification in hostilities” in the Kordofan region in southern Sudan.
“I urge all parties to the conflict and states with influence to ensure an immediate ceasefire and to prevent atrocities,” he said.
“Medical facilities and personnel have specific protection against attack under international humanitarian law,” Turk added.
