Hatay dispute

[4] On October 20, 1921, according to Article 7 of the Treaty of Ankara, Hatay would remain within the borders of Syria; although with the Turkish language and lira being official.

[9] Also in the Treaty of Lausanne, the Hatay dispute was not specifically mentioned, although France had withdrew from the Sanjak of Alexandretta in 1936 and gave it to Syria.

[13] Turkish authorities referred to Alawites as "Hittite Turks" (Eti Türkleri) in order to conceal their Arab origins.

[25] October 21, 1989 an airplane of the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre of Turkey was shot down by a Syrian mig-21 jet, which violated the border in the Altınözü district of Hatay.

In the incident, İsmail Faik Ayten, Talat Gencer, Yusuf Gören, Fikri Köşker, and Selahattin Çelik lost their lives.

[26][27] When Bashar al-Assad came power, there was a lessening of the tensions as Assad did not demand that Hatay should be returned to Syria, however no official agreement was made.

[29] In February 2011, the dispute over Hatay was almost solved, with both countries acknowledging the border, and planning to build a shared dam on the Orontes River.

Syrian media increased its broadcasting of documentaries about the Arabness of Hatay, the history of the area, the Turkish annexation, and Turkification.

[31] Tensions rose even further as a result of the demographic change in Hatay due to an increase in Syrian refugees.