Fear of Militant Attacks Prompt Ban on Public Meetings in the Turkish Capital Ankara

Turkish authorities have banned public meetings and marches in Ankara based on intelligence that militants are planning attacks on the capital, where at least 67 people died in bombings earlier this year.

Tuesday’s ruling came almost two months after Turkish-backed rebels began a campaign to drive Islamic State militants from the country’s Syrian border, Reuters reports.

“It has been determined that illegal terror groups are aiming to carry out attacks in our province and have made some preparations,” the Ankara Governor’s Office reportedly announced on its website.

A suicide attack outside Central Ankara railway station – blamed on Islamic State – killed a further 103 people in October 2015.

The fear, it said, was that militants could target public protests and gatherings in the city and its surrounding towns.

Earlier this month two suspected Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members detonated suicide bombs during a standoff with police in Ankara. They were believed to have been planning a car bomb attack.

The new ban – passed under Turkey’s emergency rules, which were imposed after July’s attempted coup – is scheduled to remain in place until Nov. 30, Reuters says

[Reuters]