Egypt’s police raid Turkey's state-run news agency in Cairo

Police arrest four employees of Anadolu news agency during raid on its Cairo office as Ankara summons top Egyptian diplomat to protest move.

CAIRO/ANKARA - Turkey summoned a senior Egyptian diplomat on Wednesday to protest what it said was a raid by Egyptian police on the Cairo office of Turkey's state-run news agency, in which four people were detained.

The Anadolu news agency said the four employees, including one Turkish national, had been taken to an undisclosed location after the raid.

Egyptian security forces shut down the agency's security camera and internet and searched the premise overnight, the agency reported. The workers' passports, cell phones and computers were confiscated, it said, adding that no explanation was given to the agency's lawyer.

Turkey's Foreign Ministry strongly condemned the move, which it described as "an act of violence" against Anadolu. It later said that it also summoned the Egyptian charge d'affaires over the matter.

"This act of violence against Anadolu not only shows the Egyptian leadership's hostile stance towards the freedom of the press, but also once again shows its grave conditions on democracy and transparency," the ministry said.

It called on Egyptian authorities to immediately release the detained Anadolu personnel.

Ankara's ties with Cairo have been poor since the Egyptian army ousted Muslim Brotherhood president Mohammed Mursi, an ally of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in 2013. The two countries have also been at odds over maritime jurisdiction and offshore resources in the eastern Mediterranean.

A spokesman for Egypt's interior ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Turkey's Communications Director Fahrettin Altun described the raid as a "hostile attempt against Anadolu employees by Egypt's putschist leadership", adding that Ankara called on the international community to condemn the move.