In July 2023, 40 environmental defenders were detained during a protest to protect the Akbelen forest earmarked for coalmining in southwest Turkey. After four years of struggles to hold off logging that would supposedly pave the way for a lignite mine near the village of Ikizkoy in Mugla province, the activists protested against a team with chainsaws arriving to fell trees. Protestors posted videos on social media showing the police using water cannons and pepper spray to prevent people entering the area. A local environmental committee spokesperson said that some people were hospitalised.

The forest has supposedly been cleared for Turkish company YK Energy to expand its mining of lignite, commonly known as brown coal. In 2020, the forestry ministry granted permission to YK Energy to expand its open pit mine in the forest in the Akbelen area. Local communities filed a lawsuit to oppose the decision, which is still ongoing.