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Turkey expels nearly 1,400 personnel from armed forces

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addresses the audience as he visits the Turkish police special forces base damaged by fighting during a coup attempt in Ankara, Turkey, July 29, 2016. (Photo: Reuters)

Turkey: The Turkish government dismissed nearly 1,400 military personnel for suspected links to a cleric it blames for an attempted coup, state media said on Sunday, hours after President Tayyip Erdogan announced sweeping changes to the armed forces.

The expulsions are the latest attempt by Erdogan to bring Turkey's military - long seen as the guardians of the secular republic - firmly under government control. On Saturday he said he planned to shut down existing military academies and put the armed forces under the command of the Defence Ministry.

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