Turkish military expelled 21,000 staff after coup attempt, says President

ANKARA

The Turkish Armed Forces expelled 21,000 of its staff over ties to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, the country's president said on Monday.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the Army War College in the capital Ankara, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said no other country in the world had been subjected to such a shock as the coup attempt of July 15, 2016 and went on to introduce such a successful new system in such a short time.

Erdogan said that after the coup attempt, Turkey had carried out a comprehensive reform of the Turkish Armed Forces, including its educational institutions.

He underlined that the college provided education to a total of 16,448 students and trainees in the 2020-2021 academic year, of which 15,501 were Turkish and 947 foreign guests from 20 different countries.

The number of graduates has now reached 23,433 together with the guests, Erdogan said, adding: "In other words, the losses of the July 15 coup have been more than compensated for in terms of numbers."

"Our university, which has achieved a rate of over 99% in vaccination of its students and staff by taking all the necessary health measures, has also become an exemplary institution in this respect," he said.

Erdogan said that a total of 1,452 students, 1,351 Turkish and 101 foreign, were graduating from the military academies affiliated with the college.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in Turkey, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

ANKARA

Erdogan said that after the coup attempt, Turkey had carried out a comprehensive reform of the Turkish Armed Forces, including its educational institutions.

Erdogan said that a total of 1,452 students, 1,351 Turkish and 101 foreign, were graduating from the military academies affiliated with the college.

FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in Turkey, in which 251 people were killed and 2,734 injured.

Ankara accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.