After so much fuss and ruckus, does Turkey’s open-door policy for Syrians still apply to the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda-linked groups? The question has popped up once again following reports that 11 Sudanese doctors and medical interns of British, American and Canadian nationalities crossed from Turkey to Syria to treat wounded IS fighters.
Such questions have become intolerable for Turkish government officials lately. Even soft-spoken Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu snapped at questions recently over the three British girls who made it to Syria via Turkey. “They keep criticizing Turkey. We strongly reject that,” he said, insisting that Turkey was doing its best and did not deserve criticism.