Health Minister Recep Akdağ has informed that more than 5,000 public servants of the ministry were suspended from duty as part of a series of government-led purges of those who allegedly have links to the July 15 failed coup attempt.
“We have been working on a busy schedule with a number of commissions. Over 5,000 personnel were suspended from the Health Ministry,” Akdağ said.
The minister stated that there are currently 685 injured people receiving treatment at the hospitals with 154 of them being in critical condition.
“There were much more injured people at the beginning [on July 15]. A majority of them were not heavily wounded so they were discharged from the hospitals after receiving treatment. We have injured people receiving treatments mostly in Ankara and İstanbul, but also in Malatya, Sakarya and Muğla provinces,” Akdağ added.
A group of rebel soldiers, acting out of chain of command, attempted a military coup at around 10 p.m. last Friday, with tanks rolling onto the streets of Ankara and İstanbul and soldiers blocking the Bosphorus Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. The military’s claim of a takeover was announced by the state broadcaster TRT after rebel soldiers raided its building. The anchorwoman said the military imposed martial law and declared a curfew until further notice.
Hundreds of people, including civilians, were killed in clashes between police and rebel soldiers overnight. The Parliament, the presidential palace and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) headquarters were struck by military helicopters.
The Turkish government managed to suppress the coup attempt and launched a large-scale crackdown across the country on media, public servants, judges, prosecutors and teachers, along with rebels within the army. Massive purges as well as many detentions and arrests continues to follow the failed coup attempt and the state of emergency, which was declared on July 20.
