Party seeks censure vote against Turkish minister

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s main opposition party is seeking a vote of no confidence against Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu over the government’s handling of a hostage crisis in Iraq.

The Republican People’s Party on Tuesday submitted a motion to parliament to censure Davutoglu. It accused him of mismanaging the crisis which erupted when militants seized 49 people, including children, from the Turkish consulate in Mosul in June.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party enjoys a comfortable majority in parliament and the motion against Davutoglu was expected to be rejected.

The opposition party said Davutoglu failed to evacuate the consulate despite the danger and had neglected to inform parliament on the hostages’ situation.

Turkey has since imposed a news blackout on the hostage crisis.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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