Turkey introduced a coronavirus lockdown over the weekend that took many by surprise and led to the resignation of Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu.
The 48-hour curfew across 31 cities marked a major development in Turkey, which had previously adopted a more relaxed approach to fighting the virus than its neighbors in Europe and the Mideast.
In a statement posted on his Twitter account late Sunday, Soylu took responsibility for the poorly timed announcement of the weekend curfew that prompted thousands of people to rush into the streets.
Soylu is one of the most senior figures in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.
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