Tureky sacks 15,000 civil servants, military personnel in crackdown

Turkey has expanded its post-coup crackdown by dismissing thousands more civil servants as well as police and military personnel.

Those newly affected, which number 15,000, were expelled on the back of official decrees on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, more than 500 institutions and news outlets were also shut down in a new state proclamation.

Ankara has already dismissed 100,000 people, including judges and prosecutors, whom it accuses of involvement in the failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July.

Authorities say the purges are “necessary” to clear public organizations of supporters of US-based opposition figure Fethullah Gulen, Erdogan’s ally-turned-archfoe, whom he accuses of masterminding the putsch.

The 75-year-old denies he had any role to play in the coup attempt.

Earlier, Erdogan warned the US-led Western military alliance, NATO, against sheltering Turkish soldiers in its command who have sought asylum, fearing repression by Ankara. He said his government demanded that those soldiers be extradited.

Turkey has also arrested dozens of university academics over alleged links to Gulen's movement. 73 academicians of Yildiz Technical University have so far been detained during simultaneous raids in different parts of Istanbul.

The massive detentions began following the abortive military revolt in Turkey and have continued to date.

The Turkish government has repeatedly dismissed international criticism of its heavy-handed crackdown.

President Erdogan has even accused Western countries of a failure to show solidarity with Ankara in the aftermath of the coup bid.

Erdogan has also been insisting that the United States should extradite Gulen.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk