Turkey's post-coup military purge has cut its armed forces by a third and NATO is worried
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Turkey's purge of its military since a botched coup in July has cut its armed forces by a third, the Council of Europe said on Monday, after NATO raised concerns that Turkey's response to the failed coup has worryingly thinned its forces.
The council, Europe's leading human rights organization with 47 member states including Turkey, said that over 125,000 people across Turkish society had been dismissed from jobs, as of Dec. 9, and almost 40,000 people had been arrested.
The study listed the arrest of 140 journalists and the closure of 177 media outlets, although 11 of those were subsequently reopened. More than 2,000 schools, universities and dormitories have been shut down.
The data, which counts all military dismissals from July to October, indicated that almost half of all Turkey's generals have been fired while the number of new, low-ranking privates contracted had jumped by a fifth.
"The dismissal of a number of members of the Turkish armed forces resulted in a decrease, by one third, of military personnel," the Council's Parliamentary Assembly said in its study.
Turkish officials roundly reject any suggestion that NATO's second-largest army has been weakened. They say the military has become more loyal and effective with the removal of rogue officers, some of whom commandeered tanks, jets and helicopters in their attempt to seize power on July 15.
http://www.businessinsider.com/turkeys-post-coup-military-purge-has-cut-its-armed-forces-by-a-third-2016-12