Turkey's Interior Minister Yerlikaya replaced amid political tension
Ali Yerlikaya has been replaced as Interior Minister after a tenure marked by major anti-crime operations and political friction within the alliance.
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By Ahmet Taş | Wise News Press
ANKARA, TURKIYE — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has replaced Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya with Erzurum Governor Mustafa Ciftci in a midnight decree, ending a tenure defined by high-profile anti-crime operations and increasing political friction.
While the official decree published in the Official Gazette stated that Yerlikaya requested to be "excused from duty," his farewell message on social media notably lacked any reference to such a request. Yerlikaya's departure comes after a 2.5-year term characterized by a distinct shift in security policy and communication, but also by tensions with the government's coalition partner, the MHP.
"Cage" operations and asset seizures
Yerlikaya’s administration was heavily focused on dismantling organized crime syndicates through the "Kafes" (Cage) series of operations. These operations targeted notorious groups such as the "Ayhan Bora Kaplan," "Sahinler," and "Anacurlar" gangs.
A signature move of his tenure was the conversion of luxury vehicles seized from crime organizations into police cruisers, a visual symbol of his crackdown on illicit finance. The ministry also intensified the fight against drug trafficking with "Narkocelik" operations, resulting in tens of thousands of arrests.
Regarding migration, Yerlikaya implemented "mobile migration points" to speed up identity checks and reported that 578,000 Syrians had returned to their country in the year following the fall of the Baath regime in Syria.
Tensions with MHP and the "Citizen" polemic
Despite his operational successes, Yerlikaya faced criticism from within the ruling alliance. A breaking point appeared to be the aftermath of an ISIS operation in Yalova on December 29, 2025, in which three police officers were killed.
When Yerlikaya referred to the killed ISIS militants as "Turkish citizens," MHP leader Devlet Bahceli publicly criticized the remark without naming him directly, calling the statement "extremely disturbing and problematic". Reports had circulated that the cabinet reshuffle was discussed in a meeting between Erdogan and Bahceli on January 21.
Clashes with the opposition
Yerlikaya also engaged in fierce polemics with opposition parties. Tensions with the main opposition CHP peaked during budget discussions in November 2025, which devolved into a physical brawl in parliament.
CHP leader Ozgur Ozel accused Yerlikaya of traveling with an excessive security detail that used signal jammers, disrupting mobile services for locals—a claim Yerlikaya dismissed as "slander".
Furthermore, the pro-Kurdish DEM Party criticized Yerlikaya for the appointment of government trustees (kayyum) to municipalities and for his controversial remarks regarding femicide cases, where he appeared to victim-blame women for "opening the door" to their attackers.
