British, German embassies in Turkey closed over security concerns

The British embassy in the capital Ankara has announced it will be closed on Sept. 16 over security concerns, while Germany has also temporarily closed its embassy, all other consular offices and a school in Turkey, reportedly due to fears of a possible terror attack.



“The British Embassy Ankara will be closed to the public on Friday 16 September for security reasons,” the embassy said in a statement on Sept. 15, without giving further details.



Like most foreign missions in Turkey, the British embassy had been closed for consular services throughout the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday which began on Sept. 12. But it had been due to reopen on Sept. 16 with the holiday officially over.



Turkey has this year been hit by a string of attacks by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Foreign missions have closed down on occasion due to security alerts.

Separately, the German Embassy in Ankara said on its official Twitter account that all German representative facilities in Turkey would provide limited services as meetings were cancelled until Sept. 16. It gave no further details.



German newspaper Bild reported on Sept. 9 that the move was taken as a precaution after the foreign ministry learned of rumored attacks on consular facilities in Turkey during the Eid al-Adha holiday week.