Turkey orders arrest of Military personnel over suspected Gulen Links
Turkey has ordered the arrest of 223 serving
military personnel across the country and in the breakaway state of Northern
Cyprus over suspected links to a network Ankara accuses of organizing an
attempted coup in 2016, state media said on Saturday.
Authorities are seeking the suspects across 49
provinces in Turkey and in Northern Cyprus, state broadcaster TRT Haber said,
Reuters reported.
It said 100 of those facing arrest were from the
army, while 41 from the air force and 32 from the navy.
Ankara blames US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen
of masterminding the failed putsch on July 15, 2016. However, he has denied any
involvement.
Since the coup attempt more than 77,000 people have
been jailed pending trial and about 150,000 civil servants, military personnel
and others have been sacked or suspended from their jobs.
According to Reuters, Turkey’s Western allies and
rights groups have criticized the scale of the crackdown, saying President
Tayyip Erdogan has used the abortive coup as a pretext to quash dissent.
