Turkey to restructure army after failed coup

Ankara, July 22: The Turkish military will shortly be restructured, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said, following a failed coup attempt. “The army will get fresh blood,” Xinhua news agency quoted Erdogan as saying on Thursday.

The President underlined significant deficiencies and failure in the country’s intelligence agency. “No need to hide or deny. I told it to the Undersecretary of tiol Intelligence Organisation,” he said.

“I hardly had contact with the prime minister,” Erdogan said as he was not able to reach the chiefs of intelligence agency and the general staff during the coup attempt. “A new coup attempt is possible but not easy. We are more vigilant now,” the President said.

At least 10,400 persons were detained out of which 4,060 of them were arrested, according to figures given by the President. About 100 generals were arrested, he confirmed.

Erdogan said they would extend the state of emergency for three more months if needed. The government had declared a state of emergency for next three months on Wednesday, which the Parliament has approved Thursday.

The failed coup attempt, which began last Friday, was crushed the next day; at least 290 people, including more than 100 “coup plotters” were killed, authorities said. The Turkish government claimed the failed coup was organised by followers of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based cleric. (IANS)