Alwaght- A major military shake-up took shape in Turkey as army, navy and air force commanders were replaced Wednesday with new generals amid an ongoing purge after last year’s failed coup.
President Spokesperson İbrahim Kalin announced that incumbent Gendarmerie Commander. Gen. Yaşar Guler has been appointed as the new army commander, reports said, whereas Vice Adm. Adnan Ozbal has been appointed the new navy commander and Gen. Hasan Kucukakyuz the new air force commander.
Reports say Turkye’s Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım lasted over four hours before the changes were announced.
There was no suggestion that the three were being reshuffled due to the coup and Kalin thanked the commanders for their service.
The term of office of eight generals have been extended for one year, whereas 61 colonels have been promoted as brigadier generals and rear admirals. The term of office of 168 colonels have also been extended for two years.
The decisions made at YAŞ gathering were announced by Kalin after being ratified by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency reported on July 23 that the number of generals and admirals in the Turkish military had decreased 40 percent due to the dismissals after the botched putsch.
The agency said the number had decreased from 326 to 196 after the military coup attempt.
Turkey witnessed a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, when a faction of the Turkish military declared that the government of Erdogan was no more in charge of the country.
A few hours later, however, the coup was suppressed. Almost 250 people were killed and nearly 2,200 others wounded in the abortive coup.
Altogether, some 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from their jobs and more than 50,000 detained. More than 8,000 military officers, including high-ranking commanders, have been accused of supporting the coup.
The changes after the coup bid further accelerated a weakening of the political influence of the once all-powerful military under the rule of Erdogan.
The military had regarded itself as the guardian of secular values and order in Turkey, stepping in four times since 1960 successfully to oust governments.
