More than 7,000 military personnel have been dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces over suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) since the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, according to a source from the country’s Defense Ministry. The source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media said Wednesday that a total of 7,655 military personnel including 150 generals and admirals and 4,287 commissioned officers had been dismissed from their posts since the defeated coup, Anadolu reported.
In addition, some 786 personnel had also been temporarily suspended from the armed forces, the source added. According to the Turkish government, FETO and its US-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured. Ankara also 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. Since the coup, Turkey has arrested tens of thousands of suspected FETO supporters and dismissed more than 100,000 public servants from the government.
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