540 Turkish military removed over coup suspicions

By Sarp Ozer

ANKARA

More than 500 military personnel are the latest to be removed from their posts over suspected links to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

In a tweet, the ministry said 540 naval and air force personnel, including 368 sergeants, had been temporarily suspended from duty. It did not indicate when the suspensions had been carried out.

The majority of those affected -- 427 -- were from the navy with the remainder coming from the air force, the ministry said on its official Twitter account.

Tens of thousands of public sector personnel, including civil servants, teachers, police, judges and prosecutors have been removed from their jobs in the wake of the July 15 coup attempt, which the government has said was carried out by FETO members.

To date, 3,699 military personnel have been dismissed or suspended.

U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen is accused of leading a long-running campaign to overthrow the Turkish government through the infiltration of state institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.