ISTANBUL: Turkey’s defense ministry and top government officials on Thursday firmly rejected allegations that the Turkish Armed Forces had used chemical weapons in their operations against Kurdish militants.
Media close to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group published videos this week which it said showed chemical weapons being used by the army against the PKK in northern Iraq.
Separately, an international medical groups’ federation published a report this month seeking independent investigation of possible violations of the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention.
“Allegations that ‘the Turkish Armed Forces used chemical weapons’ are completely baseless and untrue,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
“All these disinformation efforts are the futile struggles of the terrorist organization and its allies,” it said, adding that ammunition prohibited by international law and agreements was not used by, or in the inventory of, its armed forces.
The PKK is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and United States. More than 40,000 people have been killed in fallout from the insurgency that it launched against the Turkish state in 1984.
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), which represents thousands of doctors and campaigns to prevent armed violence, said it found indirect evidence of possible violations during a September mission to northern Iraq.
“The chemical weapons lie is a futile attempt by those who try to whitewash and airbrush terrorism. Our fight against terrorism will continue with resolve and determination,” presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Twitter.
Omer Celik, spokesman of President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party, described those who make chemical weapons’ allegations as part of “a vile slander network.”
In its report, the IPPNW said Defense Minister Hulusi Akar openly acknowledged in Turkey’s parliament last year the use of tear gas during an operation against the PKK in northern Iraq.
“This is an outright violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and should be pursued legally by the international community,” it said.
The IPPNW said it found in northern Iraq material near an area abandoned by the Turkish army including containers for hydrochloric acid and bleach, which could be used to produce chlorine, a chemical warfare agent. At the same site containers were found for gas masks protecting against chemical weapons, it said.
It said none of its evidence was definitive proof of chemical weapons use but it warranted further independent investigation.
Turkey slams allegations of chemical weapons use in northern Iraq
https://arab.news/gbhmb
Turkey slams allegations of chemical weapons use in northern Iraq
- Videos published this week purportedly show chemical weapons being used by the army against the PKK in northern Iraq
- Turkish defense ministry: Allegations that ‘the Turkish Armed Forces used chemical weapons’ are completely baseless and untrue
Lebanon approves release of former minister accused of corruption
- Salam is the only ex-minister to be arrested since the start of Lebanon’s economic crisis in 2019
- The official added that the bail was paid, with procedures ongoing to secure his release from prison
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s judiciary approved the release on bail of former economy minister Amin Salam on Tuesday after six months of detention over corruption linked to contracts deemed suspicious, a judicial official said.
Salam, who served in the cabinet of former prime minister Najib Mikati from 2021 to 2025, is the only ex-minister to be arrested since the start of Lebanon’s economic crisis in 2019.
The official, who requested anonymity, told AFP Lebanon’s judiciary “agreed to release former economy minister Amin Salam on bail of nine billion Lebanese pounds, equivalent to $100,000” and a travel ban.
The official added that the bail was paid, with procedures ongoing to secure his release from prison.
In June, another judicial official said Salam had been arrested in connection with alleged “falsification, embezzlement and suspicious contracts.”
Salam’s adviser Fadi Tamim was sentenced in 2023 to one year in prison for blackmail and personal enrichment at the expense of insurance companies.
The former minister’s brother Karim Salam was also arrested earlier this year in a “case of illicit enrichment, forgery and extortion of insurance companies,” committed “under cover of the minister himself,” the official said in June.
Many in Lebanon attribute the economic crisis to mismanagement and corruption that has plagued state institutions for decades.
President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who both took office this year, have vowed to make the fight against endemic corruption a priority, as part of the reforms demanded by international donors.
Both have vowed to uphold the independence of the judiciary and prevent interference in its work, in a country plagued by official impunity.
In September, former central bank governor Riad Salameh, who faces numerous accusations including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion, was released after being detained for over a year by paying a record bail of more than $14 million.
