Turkiye has been very busy this July, not only has it welcomed thousands of tourists mainly from the Gulf countries for their summer holidays; a number of political events have been taking place there. Foremost amongst those has been the dismantlement of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).  The PKK was founded by Abdullah Ocalan in 1978.  Ocalan a Marxist-Leninist separatist launched an armed struggle against the Turkish state in 1984. The organisation’s main objectives were to create a Kurdish state on Turkish territory.  In May 2025 the PKK announced that it was disbanding its activities and will be handing over its weapons for destruction. The handing over of weapons by the fighters of the PKK started days ago and have dominated the news better part of the week of 15 July 2025 overshadowing other significant political events.

There was also the fighting between the Arab Bedouin and Druze minority in the city of Suwayda in Syria. The fighting left scores of people, mainly from the Druze community, dead and hundreds displaced. The relationship between Bedouin and Druze communities in Syria’s southern province of Suwayda has long been marked by complexity, alternating between periods of cooperation and violent confrontation.  Ever since the fall of Bashar al Assad in December 2024 Turkiye has been assisting in the rebuilding of the infrastructure and socio-political fabric of Syria.  Therefore, whatever political events occurring in Syria resonate within Turkiye as was the conflict in Suwayda.  What further amplified the news about Suwayda was the Israeli attack on the Syrian military headquarters in Damascus, Syria.  Israel claimed that the attack was in retaliation for the attack on the Druze community in Suwayda.  The Israeli attack in Damascus caused extensive damage to infrastructure, killed and injured scores of Syrians.  Turkey condemned the attack and accused Israel of wanting to derail the development and........

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