German Consulate General in Turkey shut down over security concerns

Germany has announced that its Consulate General in Istanbul has been closed due to security concerns.

The post on the social media account of the consulate read: “Our Consulate General will be closed today (February 1) for security reasons. Appointments for visa and passport procedures will be cancelled. Thank you for your understanding.”

It should be recalled that after the burning of the Qur’an, the Dutch, British and German embassies were temporarily shut down over possible protests in the embassies.

A statement from the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Istanbul read: “Due to possible protests around the Dutch Consulate General in Istanbul and the increasing threat to western targets, the Dutch Consulate General in Istanbul will be temporarily closed to visitors as of January 30, 2023.”

Also, Britain warned its citizens in a statement which stated that British citizens made over 3 million 330 thousand visits to Turkey in 2022 and most of the visits went smoothly.

In addition, the official statement from the UK said: “There is a possibility that citizens of Western countries may be the target of attacks or be exposed to attacks, especially in big cities.

“Currently, there is terrorism in Istanbul against churches, synagogues, Embassies/Consulates and other places frequented by Westerners. The threat of attacks has increased. The British Consulate General in Istanbul is not open to the public at the moment as a precaution. We recommend that they follow the current warnings”.