Russian Ambassador Shot Dead By Gunman Who Yelled “Don’t Forget Aleppo”

By

James Hennessy

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Russia‘s ambassador to Turkey has been gunned down at an art exhibition in Ankara by an off-duty police officer who shouted “God is great” and “don’t forget Aleppo, don’t forget Syria!” in what Russia has described as a terrorist attack.

Shocking photos have emerged from the conference, which was well-attended by photographers for local and international agencies, of the gunman standing over the body of Andrey G. Karlov after shooting him from behind.

Relations between Russia and Turkey have been strained for some time, which has been deeply exacerbated by the Syrian conflict. Both countries are situated on the opposite sides of the disaster in Syria, with Russia supporting embattled president Bashar al-Assad and Turkey opposing his continued rule.
Historians say this could be the first assassination of a Russian envoy since Pyotr Voykov, the Soviet ambassador to Poland, who was killed in 1927.
Turkish media has reportedly identified the gunman as Mert Altintas, a police officer in Ankara’s special operations unit. This has not been confirmed, but international media is running with Altintas as the primary suspect. The gunman was killed by authorities at the scene.

The Russian foreign ministry has condemned this as a terrorist attack, and that they will present this to the United Nations Security Council.

The United States has condemned the killing through Secretary of State John Kerry.

Pay attention to this – it is a major international incident and the world will likely feel the shockwaves.
Source: New York Times / Twitter.
Photo: Getty Images / Yavuz Alatan.

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