17 October 2015•Update: 18 October 2015
MERSIN, Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized opposition party leaders and called for solidarity following the twin suicide bombings that hit Ankara last Saturday.
"Politicians who attack and slander the state and government in the manner of terror organizations and with their language, are the biggest handicaps in Turkey's struggle against terror," Erdogan said on Saturday at the opening ceremony of Alakopru Dam, which is part of a project that aims to carry fresh water from Turkey to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus via a pipeline.
"If we, as political parties, non-governmental organizations, trade bodies and press, stand against [terror organizations], those terror organizations cannot even blast a popgun," he said.
"Come and let's protect our country in these hard times. Let's take a stand against terror all together. Let's spoil the game that is played in our region," he said.
The twin suicide bombings in the Turkish capital last Saturday claimed 102 lives and injured hundreds at a peace rally.
After the attack, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chairman Selahattin Demirtas held the government responsible for the blasts.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Republican People's Party (CHP) leader urged Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to dismiss interior and justice ministers, Selami Altinok and Kenan Ipek, respectively, following the attack.
Thirteen suspects are in custody as part of the investigation.
"We have begun to uncover the activities of Daesh which is always mentioned as the usual suspect and the network within this framework,” Davutoglu said on Thursday, adding that the probe was also looking into the identities of the suspected suicide bombers involved and the cooperation they allegedly received.
The blasts have shaken Turkey as the country faces a general election re-run on Nov. 1, while counter-terrorism operations continue in the southeast and an ongoing civil war rages on along its southern border in Syria.
