While extremism has been a thorny issue faced by Turkey, the country remains committed in the fight against it, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Monday (Aug 21). Speaking at the 41st Singapore Lecture conference, Mr Yildirim said one of Turkey's challenges is dealing with foreign fighters, who have been using the country as a transit point. Said Mr Yildirim: "Foreign fighters - they are coming from all over the world and using our soil; they want to go to Syria and Iraq to join Daesh. What we're doing is that we stop them, we deport them back to their country or we isolate them (so as) not to kill any innocent people." For instance, Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield saw Free Syrian Army fighters backed by Turkish military push extremist forces out of the territory in northern Syria. Mr Yildirim added that countries from around the world can learn from Singapore in combating the issue. "In Singapore, you have a society with different religions and beliefs but you are successful in bringing different views and religions together to maintain peaceful lives," he said. "This is a good example not only for our region but also globally. That's why we need to work together to keep up teaching true religion to the people and not let them go in the wrong direction."
