Image copyrightAFPImage caption
A religious school in Istanbul - education staff
have been purged after the coup, along with the army and the judiciary
More than 15,000
education staff in Turkey have been suspended after last week's failed
coup, as a purge of state officials widens still further.
The
ministry of education accused them of links to Fethullah Gulen, a
US-based cleric the Turkish government says was behind Friday's
uprising.
Mr Gulen denies any involvement.
More than 1,500
university deans have also been ordered to resign and the licences of
21,000 teachers working at private institutions revoked.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim vowed to take action against Mr Gulen's supporters.
"I'm
sorry but this parallel terrorist organisation will no longer be an
effective pawn for any country," Mr Yildirim said, according to Reuters
news agency.
"We will dig them up by their roots so that no
clandestine terrorist organisation will have the nerve to betray our
blessed people again."
The US said it had received documents on Mr
Gulen from Turkey and was reviewing them to see if they constituted a
formal extradition request, as Turkey has said it will seek.
Image copyrightEPAImage caption
Soldiers accused of involvement have been appearing in court
Image copyrightAFPImage caption
Supporters of Mr Erdogan have continued to hold rallies
The army, judiciary, security and civil service have all been targeted following Friday's coup attempt:
6,000 military personnel have been arrested, with more than two dozen generals awaiting trial
Nearly 9,000 police officers have been sacked
Close to 3,000 judges have been suspended
Some 1,500 employees of Turkey's finance ministry have been dismissed
492 have been fired from the Religious Affairs Directorate
More than 250 staff in Mr Yildirim's office have been removed
Turkey's media regulation body on Tuesday also revoked the licenses of 24 radio and TV channels accused of links to Mr Gulen.
The
country's Religious Affairs Directorate has banned religious funerals
for supporters of the attempted coup, the Anadolu news agency reported.
Meanwhile
it has emerged that the army first received intelligence a coup was
under way at 16:00 local time (13:00 GMT) on Friday, hours before a
rogue faction deployed tanks and targeted key infrastructure.
The
General Staff said in a statement it alerted the relevant authorities,
adding that the majority of members had nothing to do with the coup.
Turkish women reflect on the coup
Image copyrightReuters"A successful coup attempt would have been a tragedy
for the country and the region. The lesson is that Turkish democracy is
strong. People don't just blindly follow the government" - Yildiz,
Istanbul.
"I know coups don't bring good things to Turkey, but we
are desperate. I feel alienated from the people in the days after the
coup. I don't like some of the people we see in streets. I guess you saw
some of them - the Islamists. They will be stronger after this" - Joy,
Istanbul. Read more
The
removal of thousands of officials has alarmed international observers,
with the UN urging Turkey to uphold the rule of law and defend human
rights.
The President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz,
has accused Turkey of carrying out "revenge" against its opponents and
critics.
He also said a debate around restoring the death penalty
was "deeply worrying". The EU has warned such a move would end talks
over Turkey joining the bloc.
According to official figures from
the prime minister's office, Friday night's coup attempt left 232 people
dead and 1,541 wounded.
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