Brawl erupts in Turkish parliament over military action in Syria

Panorama, Armenia
March 5 2020
Politics 12:39 05/03/2020Region

A brawl broke out in Turkey's parliament on Wednesday during tense discussions over Turkey's military involvement in northwest Syria, Euronews reported. 

Video images showed dozens of legislators from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party and from the main opposition party pushing each other.

In the footage, some are seen throwing punches while others try to pull the legislators apart.

The clash on Wednesday started when Engin Ozkoc of the opposition Republican People's Party took the rostrum. During a news conference shortly before, Ozkoc called Erdogan "dishonourable, ignoble, low and treacherous".

He also accused the president of sending the children of Turkey's people to fight while Erdogan's own offspring allegedly avoided long-term military service.

During a speech to members of his party, Erdogan himself had accused the opposition earlier of being "dishonourable, ignoble, low and treacherous" for questioning Turkey's military involvement in Syria's northwest Idlib province.