Turkey, which has NATO’s second-biggest armed forces, has dismissed or detained thousands of soldiers, including almost half its generals, since the July 15 coup attempt, in which rogue troops commandeered tanks and warplanes in an attempt to seize power.
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The purge is worrying Western allies concerned about stability in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member and partner in the fight against Islamic State. More than 16,000 people have been formally arrested – a lot of them soldiers – while 5,000 others are in custody pending investigations.
The gathering in Ankara was the last night of daily pro-democracy rallies, which has been held since July 15.
Earlier this week, media reports said the pair had gone missing.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday Turkey will restart operations against Daesh soon and is keen to cooperate with Russian Federation on the battle against the extremist group.
He also said Turkey had sent Germany more than 4,000 files on what he said were wanted terrorists, but the country did nothing.
“Many of those arrested have also admitted about Gulen’s involvement”, Sen said.
According to the AFP, Turkey’s powerful religion agency known as the Religious Affairs Directorate or Diyanet said in a statement that “the commission created for this goal (to find Gulen sympathisers) continued its rigorous work” and suspended 2,500 of its employees.
Speaking to the protesters, Mr. Cakil commended the enormous support they received from the Nigerian government and people during the failed coup. Just over half of those detained, or 17,740 people, have been formally arrested while a third have been released. “There have been escapees among our diplomats as well”, Cavusoglu told NTV in an interview.
“We welcome any signs of greater global unity against Daesh”, Farhan Haq said during a daily briefing in response to a question about the recent thawing of Turkey-Russia ties.
Some officials asked to remain in the countries where they were working, the minister said, adding the ministry had given permission for some to stay. “We have no right to show pity toward those who showed no mercy to their country or people”.
Shortly following the coup attempt, Zarif and Cavusoglu exchanged views on the foiled putsch in three separate phone calls. He said on Thursday two officials in Bangladesh fled to NY, and another official had fled to Japan through Moscow.
Putin had threatened to cancel the pipeline that would run from Russia to Turkey, and potentially the rest of Europe, after relations between the two nations collapsed when Turkish jets shot down a Russian fighter jet over Syria last November.
“If a tenth of the accusations against me are established, I pledge to return to Turkey and serve the heaviest sentence”, Gulen wrote in an opinion piece.
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member Turkey was long criticised by its Western partners for not playing a full role in the fight against IS but upped its involvement previous year by offering U.S. forces use of its Incirlik air base for raids against the group.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who arrived in St. Petersburg for talks to reset bilateral relations. “The U.S.is a strategic ally and an ally in North Atlantic Treaty Organisation”, he said. “Extradition of Fetullah Gulen is not just an issue for Turkey or the USA, but an issue the world is closely watching out for”, Bozdag said.
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“I say if we are strategic partners then you should bring about our request”, he said.
