Turkey cuts its Military by a Third
The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly claims that "the dismissal of a number of members of the Turkish armed forces resulted in a decrease, by one third, of military personnel"
Ami Rojkes Dombe
| 20/12/2016
http://www.kkk.tsk.tr/
Turkey's purge of its military since the failed coup in July has cut its armed forces by a third, the Council of Europe said on Monday, according to Reuters. Almost half of all Turkey's generals have been fired while the number of new, low-ranking privates contracted had jumped by a fifth.
NATO's top commander said this month said he had raised concerns with Turkey about the impact of the purge on its armed forces. Last month a sacked Turkish general assigned to NATO in Germany told Reuters the crackdown was inflicting deep, long-term damage on the Turkish military.
The study by the Council of Europe, whose legal experts have said the scale of the purge is unconstitutional, showed that overall, the Turkish armed forces saw its numbers drop to 355,212 in October from 518,166 before the coup bid.
The military counted 201 generals in October, down from 358 on July 1. However, a 20 percent surge in the number of newly contracted privates had offset some of the fall. Turkey's defense ministry also announced plans in November to hire 30,000 new personnel from military and naval academy students.
The Turkish military has previously confirmed that its forces, excluding coastguard and gendarmes, totaled 391,695 as of Sept. 8. That includes 206 generals and admirals. Last month, the armed forces said it employed nearly 360,000.
For the full report, click here.
The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly claims that "the dismissal of a number of members of the Turkish armed forces resulted in a decrease, by one third, of military personnel"
http://www.kkk.tsk.tr/
Turkey's purge of its military since the failed coup in July has cut its armed forces by a third, the Council of Europe said on Monday, according to Reuters. Almost half of all Turkey's generals have been fired while the number of new, low-ranking privates contracted had jumped by a fifth.
NATO's top commander said this month said he had raised concerns with Turkey about the impact of the purge on its armed forces. Last month a sacked Turkish general assigned to NATO in Germany told Reuters the crackdown was inflicting deep, long-term damage on the Turkish military.
The study by the Council of Europe, whose legal experts have said the scale of the purge is unconstitutional, showed that overall, the Turkish armed forces saw its numbers drop to 355,212 in October from 518,166 before the coup bid.
The military counted 201 generals in October, down from 358 on July 1. However, a 20 percent surge in the number of newly contracted privates had offset some of the fall. Turkey's defense ministry also announced plans in November to hire 30,000 new personnel from military and naval academy students.
The Turkish military has previously confirmed that its forces, excluding coastguard and gendarmes, totaled 391,695 as of Sept. 8. That includes 206 generals and admirals. Last month, the armed forces said it employed nearly 360,000.
For the full report, click here.
