Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 3
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has approved the new command structure of the Armed Forces of the country, the Turkish Resmi Gazete (Official newspaper) reported Aug. 3.
Newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Land Forces Yashar Guler, Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Navy Adnan Ozbal and Air Force Commander Hasan Kucukakyuz will take office on Aug. 30.
Turkey’s Supreme Military Council approved the new command structure of the country’s Armed Forces on Aug. 2. The Council’s meeting was chaired by Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
It was previously reported that as a result of purges in Turkey’s Armed Forces after the July 15 military coup attempt, the number of generals and admirals decreased by 40 percent.
There were 236 generals and admirals in the Turkish Armed Forces before the coup attempt, and currently, their numbers total at 96.
Reportedly, after the military coup attempt, about 13,000 servicemen, most of whom were ranked reserve officers, were called back for duty into the Turkish Armed Forces.
It should be noted that on July 15, 2016, Turkish authorities stated that a military coup attempt took place in the country, as a group of servicemen declared the transition of power. Taking into consideration that rebelling servicemen started to surrender on July 16, Turkish authorities stated that the coup attempt had failed. Nonetheless, more than 255 Turkish citizens were killed during the attempted coup.
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