Yusuf Soykan Bal, Mohammad Kara Maryam

July 13, 2026•Updated: July 13, 2026

Ankara/Anadolu

The Turkish Ministry of National Defense announced on Monday that ships belonging to the Naval Forces Command visited the port of Latakia in northwestern Syria, in the first such visit since the beginning of the Syrian revolution.

The ministry said in a statement that the visit is the first by Turkish naval vessels to the port of Latakia since the outbreak of war in Syria in 2011.

It added that Turkish Naval Forces Commander Ercüment Tatlıoğlu was aboard the ship TCG Istanbul during its visit to Syria.

The ministry did not provide further details.

On December 8, 2024, Syrian revolution factions entered the capital Damascus, announcing the overthrow of the regime of Bashar al-Assad (2000–2024), who inherited power from his father Hafez al-Assad (1971–2000).