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Turkey, WW I Enemies Mark Anniversary of Gallipoli Battle

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Turkish soldiers, a member of traditional Mehter army band, stands at the Turkish memorial during the Anzac Day commemorations in Gallipoli
Turkey has opened two days of solemn ceremonies on its Gallipoli peninsula marking the 90th anniversary of one of World War I's fiercest battles.

More than 100,000 men from Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, India and Turkey died in 1915, during a failed eight-month attempt by the Allies to seize the peninsula from Ottoman Turks and open a supply route to southern Russia.

Sunday, British, French and Australian warships steamed with Turkish frigates through the Dardanelles Straits, past foreign dignitaries and the towering monument to those killed in the battle.

Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders will attend a second service Monday, the anniversary of the attack.

In an address today, Turkey's Prime Minister noted that the hatred of war has long ago been replaced among the combatants by a spirit of friendship and cooperation.

Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AFP.

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