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Turkey Expels Nearly 1,400 Personnel From Armed Forces

Sunday, July 31, 2016 3:50 am | < 1 Minute Read
ISTANBUL (Reuters) —
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (C) meets with Turkey's Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar (6th L), Defense Minister Fikri Isik (6th R) and the members of High Military Council at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, July 29, 2016. Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE.
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan (C.) meets with Turkey’s Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar (6th L.), Defense Minister Fikri Isik (6th R.) and the members of High Military Council at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, Friday. (Kayhan Ozer/Presidential Palace/Handout via Reuters)

Turkey has dismissed 1,389 personnel from the armed forces for suspected links to the U.S.-based cleric it blames for orchestrating a failed coup, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Sunday.

It gave no other details. The report comes hours after President Tayyip Erdogan said he planned several changes to the armed forces, including shutting military academies, steps designed to bring the military firmly under government control.

Turkey blames followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States for years, for the July 15-16 abortive putsch. Gulen has denied the charges and condemned the coup.

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