SON DAKİKA! ABD Dışişleri Bakanlığı İstanbul’daki başkonsolosluk personelinin ailelerine ‘İstanbul’u terk edin’ emri verdi. Gerekçe olarak terör saldırısı ihtimalinin arttığı belirtildi.
State department has called the US embassy staff families in ISTANBUL home
US orders families of Istanbul consulate workers to leave
Published October 30, 2016
WASHINGTON – The State Department is ordering family members of employees posted to the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul to leave because of security concerns.
In a statement issued Saturday, the State Department says the decision is based on security information indicating extremist groups are continuing aggressive efforts to attack U.S. citizens in areas of Istanbul where they reside or frequent.
The Consulate General remains open and fully staffed. The order applies only to the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul, not to other U.S. diplomatic posts in Turkey.
The travel warning issued Saturday updates a warning last week of increased threats from terrorist groups throughout Turkey. U.S. citizens were advised to avoid travel to southeast Turkey and carefully consider the risks of travel to and throughout the country.
The State Department said international and indigenous terrorist organizations in Turkey have been targeting U.S. as well as other foreign tourists.
Anti-American sentiment runs high in Turkey despite its status as a NATO ally and a member of the anti-ISIS coalition.
In addition to the terrorist threat, friction between Washington and Ankara has increased since a failed July coup in Turkey, which Turkish officials blame on a U.S.-based cleric who lives in self-exile in Pennsylvania. Turkey has requested his extradition, but the U.S. has yet to make a decision.
State Department orders family of Istanbul consular staff to evacuate
By Eric DuVall | Updated Oct. 29, 2016 at 4:51 PM
Turkish police stand guard at the site of a terrorist attack in the Blue Mosque area in Istanbul’s tourist hub of Sultanahmet in January. The U.S. State Department on Saturday ordered the evacualtion of all family members of cosulate workers in Istanbul, citing the ongoing terrorist threat in the country. File Photo by Ali Turkel/UPI
| License Photo
ISTANBUL, Turkey, Oct. 29 (UPI) — The State Department on Saturday ordered family members of employees at the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul to evacuate, citing ongoing terrorist threats in the region.
The consulate itself will remain open and the order does not extend to other diplomatic outposts or the U.S. Embassy in the capital Ankara.
The State Department issued a travel warning for Americans abroad to avoid the southeastern portion of Turkey near the Syrian border on Monday, citing terrorist threats.
“Foreign and U.S. tourists have been explicitly targeted by international and indigenous terrorist organizations in Turkey,” the advisory stated. “In the past year, extremists have carried out attacks in France, Belgium, Germany, Mali, Bangladesh, Tunisia, and Turkey. Additional attacks in Turkey at major events, tourist sites, restaurants, commercial centers, places of worship, and transportation hubs, including aviation services, metros, buses, bridges, bus terminals and sea transport, could occur.”
