PHOTO: President Erdoğan signs an order on Thursday
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has retained the heads of the three military branches, amid the dismissal of 149 other generals and admirals after the failed coup of July 15.
After a five-hour Supreme Military Council meeting on Thursday, Presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın announced the retention of Chief of General Staff General Hulusi Akar, Army Commander Gen. Salih Zeki Çolak, Air Force Commander Gen. Abidin Ünal, Naval Forces Commander Adm. Bülent Bostanoğlu, and Fleet Commander Veysel Kösele.
Akar, Çolak, Ünal, and Kösele were all taken hostage by anti-Government troops during the coup attempt.
Earlier in the day, Erdoğan said he wanted to bring both the military’s General Staff and the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) under his control.
According to CNN Türk, the President made the remarks during a visit by MPs. The military and intelligence services are currently under the Prime Ministry. Parliamentary Speaker İsmail Kahraman and the members for the Bureau of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey’s visit to the Presidential Palace.
On Wednesday, 149 generals and admirals — 42% of the 358 in the Turkish military — were among 1,684 soldiers discharged from the armed forces. They were said to have links to the self-exiled cleric Fethullah Gülen, whom Erdogan has accused of organizing the failed coup.
Those dismissed included the former Chief of Air Staff Akın Öztürk — arrested as an alleged leader of the coup attempt — 2nd Army Commander Gen. Adem Huduti; Major Generals Mehmet Dişli and Kubilay Selçuk; and Lieutenant Generals Yıldırım Güvenç, İlhan Talu, and Salim Ulusoy.
About 30 generals are still detained among a total of almost 16,000 from the security forces.
To cover the gap after the dismissals, 99 colonels have been promoted.
