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At least 45 000 people rounded up, sacked or suspended in Turkey

───   07:47 Wed, 20 Jul 2016

At least 45 000 people rounded up, sacked or suspended in Turkey | News Article

Istanbul - At least 45,000 people have been rounded up, sacked or suspended from their jobs by Turkey's government in the wake of last week's failed coup.

The purge of those deemed less than loyal to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan widened yesterday to include teachers, university deans and the media. 

The government says they are allied to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who denies claims he directed the uprising. 

PM Binali Yildirim said the preacher led a "terrorist organisation". He told parliament that they would dig them up by their roots. 

Turkey is pressing the US to extradite Gulen and the White House say the issue was raised during a phone call between US President Barack Obama and President Erdogan yesterday. 

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.

BBC

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