Mercy Corps, a leading American charity that uses Turkey as a base to aid hundreds of thousands of civilians upended by the war in neighboring Syria, was forced to curtail its work on Wednesday after the Turkish government abruptly revoked its registration to operate.
“Our hearts are broken by this turn of events, which comes after five years of cooperation with the government of Turkey and other local partners,” Mercy Corps said in a statement.
It said Turkish officials had provided no explanation for the move, which forced Mercy Corps to “shut down our operations in Turkey, effective immediately.”