On
Feb 8, 2021
Turkey’s Diyanet Foundation opened a primary school for 1,100 students in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib in November 2020. (AFP/File)
Ankara faces accusations of foreign meddling and violating Syrian territorial sovereignty
ISTANBUL: Ankara has announced that it will open a health care vocational school and a medical faculty in the Cobanbey (Al-Ra’i) town of Syria near the Turkish border.
The surprise decision was published in Turkey’s Official Gazette on Friday night.
Cobanbey, in northern Syria in Aleppo, is a predominantly Turkmen town under Syrian opposition control. The medical school will be established under the auspices of Turkey’s Health Sciences University.
The surprise decision was published in Turkey’s Official Gazette on Friday night.
Cobanbey, in northern Syria in Aleppo, is a predominantly Turkmen town under Syrian opposition control. The medical school will be established under the auspices of Turkey’s Health Sciences University.
While some experts consider such moves a boost to the region’s damaged social infrastructure, others say Ankara may face accusations from Syria of foreign meddling violating its territorial sovereignty.
Since 2018, Turkey has been building hospital university faculties in Syria, including in Afrin, Al-Bab and Idlib, to encourage the return of Syrian refugees. The Turkish lira is also being used in Cobanbey district and Al-Bab.