TURKISH TEACHER KIDNAPPED IN MONGOLIA FREED AFTER AUTHORITIES GROUND FLIGHT Australia hosts air force exercise
>> BEIJING: A Turkish teacher, who was allegedly kidnapped in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar and taken to the city’s airport, has been released after authorities temporarily grounded an aeroplane, according to local media and a social media posting by the man.
Veysel Akcay, who thanked Mongolians for their support yesterday, was abducted in front of his apartment on Friday morning according to friends and family, who circulated details of the abduction on social media.
Mr Akcay, who has lived in Mongolia for 24 years, is associated with the network of a US-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, which Turkish authorities hold responsible for a failed 2016 coup in Turkey.
Ankara has branded the group as terrorists and sought to detain those involved as part of a wide-ranging operation this year.
Supporters of Mr Akcay accused Turkish authorities of having hand in his abduction. The Turkish Embassy and Ambassador denied any involvement, according to the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.
Groups of supporters gathered at Genghis Khan airport holding signs demanding Mr Akcay’s release on Friday, and human rights activists in the country spoke out publicly, urging the government to take action against the abduction, which they believed was politically motivated.
The plane was grounded by authorities and later left the country without Mr Akcay at 9.15pm in the evening.
Mongolian authorities said they do not have specific knowledge of the abduction, and are conducting an investigation. Mongolian deputy Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh said that if the accusations were true “it is an unacceptable act of violation of Mongolia’s sovereignty and independence and Mongolia will strongly object it”.
Mr Batmunkh made the comments during a meeting with a diplomat from the Turkish Embassy on Friday. >> MELBOURNE: The skies over Australia’s northern coastline were filled with air force pilots from 16 nations yesterday in one of Asia-Pacific’s largest training exercises.
The tropical northern city of Darwin is hosting 4,000 personnel and 140 aircraft over the next three weeks as air forces from around the world take part in Exercise Pitch Black.
The training includes night flying and aerial refuelling and enables different nations a chance to learn from each other using one of the largest training airspace areas in the world.
The biennial Pitch Black exercise began in 1990 between Australia and Singapore, and features a range of realistic, simulated threats which can be found in a modern battle-space environment, the Royal Australian Air Force said in a statement.
“Activities such as Exercise Pitch Black recognises the strong relationship Australia has with its participant nations and the high value it places on regional security and fostering closer ties throughout the Asia Pacific region,” the Royal Australian Air Force said.
The air forces involved are from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia.