Turkey purges more than 20,000 military personnel since 2016 coup d'état attempt

The Ministry noted that the judicial and administrative process for 3,560 personnel was continuing.

Turkey began a series of purges by a state of emergency in reaction to the 15 July failed coup d'état.

The purges began with the arrest of Turkish Armed Forces personnel reportedly linked to the coup attempt but arrests were expanded to include other elements of the Turkish military, as well as civil servants and private citizens.

Turkish government blamed cleric Fethullah Gulen and his spiritual movement of carrying out the coup attempt, which left 240 dead excluding 24 coup-plotters. (ILKHA)