Turkey in May 2026: the most important developments in security
Turkey, May 2026: the main security development was police action against the main opposition party. On May 24 riot police entered the party's headquarters in Ankara and used tear gas to evict its ousted leadership. On May 26 police used water cannons and tear gas at an opposition protest, and on May 27 water cannons were fired at protesters in Izmir. Earlier, on May 1, police fired tear gas and arrested dozens at May Day rallies in Istanbul, with hundreds reportedly detained overall.
Shootings and stabbings also made news. The death toll from a school shooting reached 10 on May 4, and on May 18 a gunman opened fire in southern Turkey, killing 4 people and injuring 8. On May 28 a man stabbed relatives during an Eid visit.
Turkey's defense industry featured prominently. At the SAHA 2026 defense show in Istanbul, Turkey unveiled a ballistic missile with a range of 6,000 km and a hypersonic missile, and the company Aselsan debuted new counter-drone and electronic warfare systems. A Turkish company signed a deal to export 100,000 kamikaze drones, Turkey was reported to plan a test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, and on May 21 it announced plans to buy 100 one-way explosive naval drones. Erdogan called the Turkish defense sector a globally sought-after ecosystem. On May 20 Germany announced it will deploy a Patriot air defense system to southeast Turkey.
In the surrounding region, dozens of ships sailed from Turkey on May 14 in a second attempt to run the Gaza blockade. Israel began boarding the boats on May 18 and on May 21 deported 430 activists to Istanbul, a move Turkish officials condemned. In the Aegean, a Turkish missile boat was reported to have harassed a cable-laying vessel on May 13, and Turkish warplanes were reported to have violated Greek airspace on May 25. On May 28 drone attacks struck oil tankers off Turkey's Black Sea coast in four incidents, and on May 29 Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone hit a cargo ship bound for Turkey, and Turkey warned against uncontrolled escalation.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
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