August 18, 2015 - 13:29 AMT
Turkish PM says options to form coalition govt. exhausted

Turkey's Prime Minister says he has exhausted all options to form a coalition government after talks with the nationalist MHP failed, pushing the country closer to fresh elections, BBC News reports.

Ahmet Davutoglu said he would return the mandate to the president.

The main opposition CHP said it should now be given the mandate to form a new government.

The political uncertainty comes amid rising violence in Turkey and neighboring Iraq and Syria.

Davutoglu's AK Party lost its 12-year majority rule in Turkey in elections in June largely because of the success of the pro-Kurdish HDP.

The AKP's coalition talks with the CHP failed last week. Experts say the CHP is unlikely to secure the support it needs from both the MHP and the HDP to form a coalition of its own.