Over the weekend, Turkey fired over 18,000 employees of the state for alleged connections to organizations that “act against national security.” No organizations were named, but the firings likely targeted those with any kind of connection to the coup-related cleric Futullah Gulen or the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The employees included around 9,000 police officers, 6,000 military personnel, and 1,000 justice ministry employees. Over 125,000 people have been dismissed since the failed coup in 2016. There has been speculation that this will be the final purge before Erdogan lifts the ongoing state of emergency at some point after his swearing in this week for his new 5-year term.
Source: Turkey dismisses 18,000 state employees for alleged terrorist links – UPI.com
