Ankara: In protest against mass dismissals in wake of failed coup bid, two high-ranked Turkish officers have resigned just hours before the country’s Supreme Military Council began a meeting to discuss a review of the armed forces.
The generals handed in their resignations in protest against the government’s ongoing dismissals in the aftermath of the failed coup attempt of July 15, sources told Al Jazeera on Thursday.
CNN Turk identified them as Kamil Basoglu and Ihsan Uya, both high-ranked members of the land forces.
The Supreme Military Council meeting was scheduled to be held in the begining of August but it was advanced by a week, Al Jazeera’s Almutaz Billah Hasan reported from Ankara.
The council is comprised of the heads of the various divisions of the army, as well as Turkey’s prime minister and the defence minister. It is responsible for promotions and removals and also helps set the direction of the armed forces.
For the first time, the meeting is taking place in Ankara at the Cankaya Prime minister’s palace instead of the military headquarters.
The meeting will be chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Fikri Isik, the Turkish defence minister, will also be attending the meeting
The meeting will last just one day as opposed to the usual three, and will address the failed coup attempt, a new military structure, possible promotions of at least 91 officers, and the latest dismissals within the army.
The Turkish government has dismissed more than 1,223 officers from the army, including 130 generals, since the failed coup attempt.
On Thursday, Turkish media sources reported quoting Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, that 88 employees had been laid off from his department.
At the same time, the government has shut down several media outlets, including 16 television channels and three news agencies that are said to be supportive of Fethullah Gulen, the US-based exile and businessman blamed by the Turkish government for the failed coup attempt.