site.bta14 Individuals Detained for Removing Turkish Flag in Nusaybin During Protest

Turkiye's Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc announced that 14 people have been detained for removing the Turkish flag in Nusaybin, a town on the Turkish-Syrian border, during a protest called by the pro-Kurdish DEM party, Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber reported on Wednesday.

The demonstrators opposed the Syrian army's operation targeting Kurdish militias in northeastern Syria, which is backed by Turkish authorities. They clashed with police while attempting to advance toward the Syrian border.

Earlier this week, the Syrian government captured Kurdish-held territories in the northeast and gave the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by Kurds, four days to negotiate integration into the central state, Reuters reported. Turkiye considers the SDF a terrorist organization linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a four-decade insurgency against Turkiye. In its peace process with the PKK, Ankara calls for the group and its branches to disband and disarm. Turkiye, a key foreign supporter of the new Syrian government, praised Damascus's advances against the SDF and repeatedly urged the integration of Damascus with the Syrian state apparatus.

According to Tunc, the investigation involves 393 people, with 35 detained on Tuesday, 14 of whom specifically over the flag removal.

"Necessary procedural measures are being taken in connection with provocations during various demonstrations, where clashes between Syrian government forces and Syrian Kurdish militias are cited as the reason," the Turkish Minister said.