In the latest swoop, Turkey detained 283 members of the presidential guard, an official said, There are at least 2,500 members of the guard, according to local media.
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Erdogan says confessions from the initial interrogations have provided new leads that will mean more arrests. Obama said he also told the Turkish president that any false reports about alleged USA knowledge of the coup plot “puts our people at risk on the ground in Turkey and it threatens what is a critical alliance and partnership between the United States and Turkey”.
In an interview with Reuters late on Thursday, Erdogan said the government’s Supreme Military Council, which is chaired by the prime minister and includes the defence minister and the chief of staff, would oversee the restructuring of the armed forces.
Some media have cited concerns that Erdogan’s crackdown is at least partly created to sideline legitimate opposition to his government and expand his power.
Turkey’s Western allies have been watching with alarm the turmoil in the key North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member state, which has also been reeling from a wave of bomb attacks by Islamic State group jihadists and Kurdish rebels. US military jets use the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey to conduct air strikes against IS extremists in Syria and Iraq. ― Reuters picWASHINGTON, July 23 ― President Barack Obama yesterday denied any USA role in Turkey’s failed coup and insisted that an extradition request for a US-based Muslim cleric accused of orchestrating the putsch would have to go through normal channels.
The organizations slated to be shut down are suspected of links with US-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, who turned into his fierce opponent. Gulen has condemned the July 15 abortive coup and denied any involvement.
Several articles in Western media outlets appear to have mischaracterized the July 15 coup attempt as well as the measures since taken by the Turkish government.
Obama also told reporters that Turkey’s request for Gulen’s extradition would be handled in accordance with United States law and that “evidence” of wrongdoing by the preacher would be taken seriously.
“We owe it to our people to go after them”, he said.
Turkey is very important to the United States battle against Islamic State militants.
Secretary of State John Kerry has said the United States will consider any extradition request for Gulen from Turkey but that Washington’s decision will be based on the strength of the evidence.
Since the botched attempt to overthrow Erdogan, Turkey’s parliament has approved a three-month state of emergency, giving the president sweeping new powers.
“The lynching has started”, said Beyza Ustun, an official of the Kurdish-dominated, left-wing People’s Democratic Party, reflecting the concern members of Turkey’s minorities have expressed at what they see as a growing threat to their rights. Some European leaders say they are concerned that the large-scale purges could jeopardize basic freedoms.
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The Turkish government has already imposed a crackdown that has included mass arrests, mass firings and closing hundreds of schools allegedly linked to Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania.
