Sahak Maşalyan, patriarch of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Türkiye, accompanied the Christian congregation to a religious service in the eastern province of Van on Sunday. Maşalyan said that, along with prayers for global peace and brotherhood among people, they had “a special prayer” this year “for the restoration of Türkiye-Armenia ties.”

“People living in these lands deserve peace. We ask God for His blessing,” he said after the religious service at the historic Akdamar Church on the eponymous island in Lake Van.

Maşalyan was accompanied by Armenian faithful from across Türkiye, the United States, Europe, Armenia and neighboring Iran. Bishop Mesrob Parsamyan, primate of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America, led the religious service.

Türkiye and Armenia took major steps toward rapprochement this year, especially after a visit to Yerevan by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and regular meetings between delegations from both sides to normalize relations. The two countries agreed to work on a direct railway route and the restoration of a historic bridge on the border.

Türkiye was one of the first countries to recognize Armenia’s independence within months of its declaration in 1991. Yet, one year later, Türkiye began cutting ties with Armenia and shut down the border when Armenia attacked Azerbaijan.

It took 15 years for the first steps toward normalizing relations to be taken. In 2009, the two countries signed protocols to that end, but the political climate in Armenia at the time stalled the normalization efforts. Under incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Armenia has largely abandoned its anti-Turkish rhetoric and introduced the “Real Armenia” doctrine, which promotes peace with its neighbors.

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Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who returned to the chairmanship of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) by pledging to eliminate “thieves and bribe-takers through cleansing,” is intent on carrying out a historic transformation of Türkiye’s oldest party. In less than three months, he has reshuffled the party’s top cadres, and more is on the way, especially through changes to the party’s delegate system. Some delegates have acknowledged that they were paid by associates of Kılıçdaroğlu’s rival, Özgür Özel, in a 2023 party election that Kılıçdaroğlu lost.

While party organizations are being completely overhauled, most lawmakers and mayors suspected of corruption have either been referred to disciplinary boards or subsequently forced to resign and join the New Party (YP). The YP was founded by Özel in July, and although it has reduced the CHP’s presence in Parliament, it is tainted by allegations of corruption involving CHP-run municipalities, whose mayors are mostly supportive of the YP.

In the final stage of the purge pledged by Kılıçdaroğlu, attention has now turned to the party’s delegate structure.

In this context, all eyes in the CHP are on Sept. 9, which is also considered the party’s founding anniversary. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is expected to make important statements on the day when various events will be held. It is anticipated that Kılıçdaroğlu himself will announce the long-awaited congress schedule to the public on that date. CHP provincial and district heads will also be in Ankara for the special occasion.

As part of the congress process in the CHP, elections will be held for provincial and district leadership positions, while congress delegates will be determined from scratch. This will, in a sense, eliminate the controversial delegate structure that has caused major problems for the party for the past three years. The CHP’s grand congress is expected to be convened quickly following the Court of Cassation’s ruling on absolute nullity in the case involving vote-buying allegations in the 2023 intra-party election. The aim is to complete the congress processes at the provincial and district levels by the time the Court of Cassation issues its ruling, which will either validate or nullify Kılıçdaroğlu’s reinstatement.

Bribery allegations overshadowed the CHP’s 2023 congress, in which Kılıçdaroğlu unexpectedly lost the chairmanship by a very narrow margin. Rumors that Özel and Imamoğlu had bought the votes of hundreds of delegates in exchange for money were brought before the courts, and the allegations were effectively confirmed by the absolute-nullity ruling issued by the regional appeals court recently. Former Istanbul Mayor Imamoğlu, who was arrested last year on charges of municipal corruption, was a key figure within the CHP. Prior to the intra-party election, he was caught on video at a meeting where he schemed with other party figures to support Özel against Kılıçdaroğlu, who had helped his rise in the party.

Özel’s supporters have accused Kılıçdaroğlu of attempting to undermine the CHP’s prospects of winning the next presidential election under Özel’s leadership, with some of his allies going as far as branding the former chair a “traitor.”

Kılıçdaroğlu, meanwhile, has continued to challenge Özel and his supporters, deepening the political rupture that eventually contributed to the establishment of the YP.

In August, the CHP referred 49 members to disciplinary proceedings over allegations that they worked for another political party while remaining members of the CHP, party spokesperson Müslim Sarı announced. Sarı said the party had previously warned that working for another political party while remaining within the CHP would be considered both unethical and subject to disciplinary rules.

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Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi’s killing in the occupied West Bank on Sept. 6, 2024, was another bitter loss for peaceful activism against Israel’s brutal occupation of the Palestinian territories. Two years after the incident, her family says there has been virtually no progress toward accountability for her death.

“It’s exactly where it was on day one,” Hamid Ali, Eygi’s husband, told Anadolu Agency (AA) from his home in Seattle. “We’re still asking for the same thing, which is an investigation as a first step toward getting justice for her.”

Eygi, 26, a dual Turkish U.S. citizen, was killed while participating in a protest against Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank town of Beita, near Nablus.

The Israeli military said she was hit “indirectly and unintentionally” by Israeli military fire that “was not aimed at her” as its forces fired at protesters allegedly throwing rocks.

Witnesses and her family disputed the Israeli account, saying she was deliberately targeted during a peaceful protest.

A Washington Post investigation found that she was shot around 20 minutes after clashes had ended, when protesters had already retreated more than 200 yards (182 meters) from Israeli forces.

Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Eygi’s killing “unprovoked and unjustified” days after the shooting.

But two years later, the U.S. has not opened an independent investigation into her death despite repeated calls from her family and members of Congress.

Washington instead deferred to an Israeli inquiry that has never produced a public finding.

For Eygi’s father, Mehmet Suat Eygi, the absence of an investigation has left little hope that the U.S. will deliver the accountability his family has sought.

“I don’t have much hope for justice because America is the financier of Aysenur’s killing. America therefore cannot investigate itself,” he told AA.

The lack of movement in Eygi’s case comes as the number of Americans killed by Israeli forces or settlers has continued to grow.

Eygi is among 14 U.S. citizens killed by Israeli forces or settlers since 2003, according to the rights group DAWN, which tracks the cases. None has resulted in a criminal prosecution.

The list includes Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old beaten to death by settlers in the West Bank in July 2025, and Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a 19-year-old shot near Jerusalem in February.

Brad Parker, associate director of policy at the Center for Constitutional Rights and part of the legal team supporting Eygi’s family, said two years have brought no U.S. criminal investigation or other accountability measures.

“There are no new developments on the investigation front, criminal investigation from the U.S., or really anything focused on accountability for Ayşenur’s killing,” he said. “There’s absolutely no follow-up, no update.”

He added that the family has little confidence that an Israeli-led investigation would produce meaningful accountability, pointing to previous cases, including that of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian American journalist for Al Jazeera who was fatally shot on May 11, 2022.

“There’s no indication that the Trump administration is interested in holding perpetrators accountable for killing American citizens in the West Bank, in Gaza, sort of anywhere,” he said. “The impunity that exists is perpetuated over the years by lack of action by the U.S. government,” Parker added.

With no independent federal investigation, the family’s push for accountability has increasingly extended to Washington state, where Eygi grew up.

A joint memorial calling for a U.S. investigation into her death advanced through the state Legislature this year but failed to win final passage before the end of the legislative session. “The support we got from the members of the Washington State Legislature in that memorial was so heartening,” Ali said.

He attributed its failure primarily to timing and legislative maneuvering, saying Republicans in the Washington Statehouse used the limited time remaining in the session as leverage over other issues.

“I don’t think it was because of lack of support. I think it was just more of a strategical kind of failure,” Ali said.

‘A symbol’

While pursuing accountability, Eygi’s family and friends have also sought to preserve her memory in the community where she grew up.

Around her birthday on July 27, friends and supporters gathered in Seattle to paint a community mural of her portrait, designed by artist James Hesketh. “It’s not all negative. We’ve been building community,” Ali said.

He said the family hopes Eygi’s legacy will encourage ordinary people to believe their actions can matter.

“She’s become a symbol, and we can’t really help that,” he said. “But it doesn’t mean that what she did was exceptional.

“I don’t think she thought by going to the West Bank and being a part of the protests, she was going to change the tide of the war or free Palestine,” he added. “But she understood that you can do something, and it does make a difference. It does have an effect.”

For Eygi’s father, the two-year anniversary is also a measure of a loss that time has done little to diminish. “It is impossible to get used to a life without Ayşenur. She is always on our minds, every second,” he said.

Despite the lack of accountability, he said Eygi’s emergence as a symbol of solidarity with Palestinians and protests against Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza was a source of pride. “Ultimately, justice has not been served. What remains for us is a life without Ayşenur.”

AA asked the U.S. State Department whether it supports an independent investigation into Eygi’s killing, given the lack of accountability from Israel’s inquiry.

“The Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans. Embassy Jerusalem remained in touch with the family of Ayşenur Eygi and the Government of Israel as it investigated this case,” it said.

The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment. The Israeli military also did not respond.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry called Eygi’s killing a “murder committed by the Netanyahu government,” and Turkish prosecutors opened their own investigation into her death.

As Eygi’s family enters a third year without the independent U.S. investigation it first demanded after her killing, Ali said it is preparing for a longer fight.

“We’ve been developing a long-term strategy and what we want to do for Ayşenur, for her legacy, but also to help others, unfortunately, who might be in a similar situation,” he said.

A suspected member of the Daesh terrorist group who was allegedly planning an attack in Türkiye was killed after opening fire on police during an operation in Istanbul, local authorities said Friday.

The 21-year-old suspect, identified as Berkan Çil, was targeted in a joint operation coordinated by Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and the Istanbul Police Department, according to a statement from the Istanbul Governor’s Office.

Authorities said intelligence indicated that Çil had links to Daesh and was suspected of planning a terrorist attack in Türkiye.

Police initially launched operations at two addresses in two districts in Istanbul on Thursday as part of efforts to apprehend the suspect. Çil managed to escape during the raids, prompting security forces to expand their search, according to local media reports.

Investigators later determined that Çil had purchased a ticket for a bus scheduled to depart from the Sultanbeyli Bus Terminal on Istanbul’s Asian side.

A 49-year-old civilian, identified as Tahsin P., was wounded during the exchange of gunfire at the terminal.

A search of G.Ç.’s residence uncovered an unlicensed handgun, 200 rounds of ammunition and a large amount of digital material. Bomb disposal and investigation teams were examining the substances, according to authorities.

The Istanbul Governor’s Office said an investigation into the incident was ongoing. Istanbul Governor Davut Gül praised the intelligence agency and police for the operation in a statement posted on social media.

“I sincerely congratulate our National Intelligence Organization and Istanbul Police Department, which are resolutely fighting terrorist elements targeting the peace of our nation and the security of our state,” Gül said.

Turkish security forces regularly conduct operations against suspected Daesh members and networks across the country. Authorities have stepped up counterterrorism operations aimed at identifying suspected cells, disrupting financing and preventing potential attacks.

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Turkish prosecutors on Friday sought the arrest of a doctor on suspicion of false testimony as part of a widening investigation into the 2016 death of former Transport Minister Arif Ahmet Denizolgun.

Dr. Nurettin Demirkol was detained and questioned before being referred to a criminal judgeship of peace with a request for his arrest, according to a referral document issued by the Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The investigation centers on alleged inconsistencies between Demirkol’s testimony and records of emergency calls made following Denizolgun’s death on Sept. 7, 2016.

Prosecutors said Demirkol testified as a witness on Aug. 26 that he did not know who had reported the death or when the report was made. He also said he was not Denizolgun’s doctor and had not considered the death suspicious.

However, a transcript of calls to the 155 police emergency line showed that Demirkol himself reported the death, identified himself as the family’s doctor and described it as an “unexpected, suspicious sudden death,” according to prosecutors.

According to the Sabah newspaper, the records also showed that Demirkol called police again four minutes later and identified himself by name.

Prosecutors said phone records and testimony from other witnesses also contradicted Demirkol’s account regarding when people arrived at and left the scene.

When questioned again as a suspect about the alleged inconsistencies, Demirkol repeatedly said he could not remember the details, according to the referral document.

Prosecutors said there was strong suspicion that Demirkol had committed the offense of false testimony and requested that he be formally arrested pending further proceedings.

The development is the latest in an expanding investigation into Denizolgun’s death.

Prosecutors ordered his grave exhumed in August after allegations were raised about his cause of death and the original autopsy. Forensic experts collected samples from the grave on Aug. 19 for renewed examination.

The Bakırköy prosecutor’s office later said a review of the autopsy had identified the death as suspicious and that an investigation into suspected homicide was continuing against several people, including Alihan Kuriş.

Kuriş, who took control of the group in 2016, was among 37 people detained in a nationwide operation last month targeting what prosecutors describe as an alleged profit-driven criminal organization.

Evidence gathered following the exhumation was referred to the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute for further examination.

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According to official figures, Türkiye has 190 political parties. This number may sound incredibly high and can be reduced to below 100 if you don’t count parties whose membership numbers are only a few dozen, as well as parties with only one branch or office and a sign. Still, Türkiye is rich in democratic tradition, with new parties being established almost every two years, although few parties can make it to parliament.

Here are some of the major parties that have endured closure lawsuits, military juntas and tectonic shifts in voters’ preferences.

Justice and Development Party (AK Party)

In power since 2002, the ruling AK Party is a true survivor of Turkish politics, which was often interrupted by coups. Weathering a closure lawsuit and multiple attempts to overthrow its governments, the party is the most successful in the brief history of democracy in the country in terms of its winning streak. It won seven consecutive legislative elections and broke the unfortunate tradition of short-lived coalition governments that had run the country since the 1970s.

The party, which currently has 277 seats in the 600-seat parliament, has more than 11.7 million members, according to official figures, making it one of the largest parties in the region where Türkiye is located.

The AK Party was founded by an assorted mix of politicians, mostly from parties that pursued right-wing, conservative politics, but it managed to attract voters from the opposite side of the political spectrum with an all-embracing approach. With the decline of other right-wing and conservative parties, the party grew more and more over two decades.

The party’s leader is President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who established it with fellow politicians, mainly from the now-defunct Welfare Party (RP), where Erdoğan first rose to prominence as a skilled orator and then as mayor of Istanbul. Erdoğan later handed the chairmanship of the AK Party to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu when he was elected president, as a president could not be the chair of a party under the former presidential system. He returned to the chairmanship in 2017 after Türkiye switched to an executive presidential system. The party’s logo is a lightbulb emitting seven rays, which represent the seven geographic regions of Türkiye.

The AK Party received 35.62% of the parliamentary vote in the last legislative election, held in 2023, and the only election in which it suffered a serious setback was the 2024 municipal elections, when the party lost several strongholds and failed to take back Istanbul Municipality, which it had run for years. Still, the party managed to receive 35.49% of the vote and won 24 provincial and 357 district municipalities in the 2024 local elections.

The party is a member of the People’s Alliance, which it first set up with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) during the 2018 elections.

New Party (YP)

Founded in July 2026, the New Party (YP) is the second-largest party in the Turkish Parliament, with 91 lawmakers. Its chairman is Özgür Özel, former chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP).

YP became a main opposition party within days of its foundation by former CHP members.

It is a product of infighting within the CHP. When a court ordered the reinstatement of Özel’s predecessor in the CHP over allegations of vote-buying in a 2023 intra-party election, Özel was forced out of office in May 2026. After vowing to pursue a legal battle, Özel changed his mind within days and announced the establishment of YP.

YP touts a new political vision seeking to attract voters antagonized by the CHP, but it also claims a commitment to the principles of the social democratic CHP. As Özel announced in his declaration of the party’s foundation, YP aims to establish a “Türkiye Alliance with conservative, nationalist, Kurdish and social democratic circles.” The party’s logo is plain text reading “Yeni” (New in Turkish), with the letter N bearing a striking resemblance to the logo of a certain international streaming platform.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)

MHP is one of the oldest nationalist parties in Türkiye and was founded in 1969 when its founder, former military officer Alparslan Türkeş, changed the name of his Republican Peasants’ Nation Party. Türkeş is considered the father of modern Turkish nationalism, which had been confined to the margins of politics during the final days of the Ottoman Empire and the early years of the Republic of Türkiye.

The party’s current leader is Devlet Bahçeli, who was elected in 1997, one month after Türkeş’s death. Bahçeli won successive intra-party elections and boosted MHP’s vote share in the 1999 elections from 8.1% to 17.9%, securing a seat in the coalition government as deputy prime minister.

Like most political parties, MHP was closed by the military junta following the 1980 coup. It was reopened in 1993 under its current name after a separate party founded by former MHP members was dissolved.

In the last general elections, held in 2023, MHP won more than 10% of the vote and secured 50 seats in parliament. After allying with the AK Party in 2018, the party did not field any presidential candidates in subsequent elections.

MHP’s logo is three crescents against a red background.

The party is also associated with the Idealists’ Club, which evolved into a foundation from a nationalist movement that lost many members during the political turmoil of the 1970s and the executions carried out by the military junta after 1980. Idealists, known as “ülkücüs” in Turkish, are called Grey Wolves in Europe, where they had many members in the past.

Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM)

DEM was founded in 2012 through the merger of several small left-wing parties and, over time, evolved into a party that served as a continuation of now-defunct parties that sought to associate themselves with the Kurdish community. DEM changed its name from the Green Left Party to its current one and is currently co-chaired by Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan. It is currently the third-largest party in parliament, with 56 lawmakers.

The party is known for its close links with the terrorist group PKK and played a role in the Terror-Free Türkiye initiative launched by MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli in 2024. DEM lawmakers served as messengers, carrying messages from the PKK’s jailed ringleader Abdullah Öcalan to the public, which led to the PKK’s announcement of its dissolution in 2025.

Republican People’s Party (CHP)

CHP is Türkiye’s oldest party and was founded by the Republic of Türkiye’s first president, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Before the establishment of YP, it was the main opposition party, but currently, it has only 44 lawmakers in parliament, lagging behind DEM and MHP.

Its current chair is Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who unsuccessfully ran against incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2023 general elections.

The party briefly ran the country after Atatürk’s death in 1938 but lost to the Democrat Party in the 1950 elections. Since then, it has never managed to win an election, although it maintained its status as a strong opposition party up until the foundation of YP.

CHP pursues a “social democratic” ideology and is currently in the process of holding a new congress that may prolong Kılıçdaroğlu’s tenure.