Turkish government dismisses 43 local governors for alleged coup

A total of 43 Turkish state representatives in cities and provinces were dismissed on Tuesday by order of the Ministry of the Interior for alleged links to the brotherhood of Islamist cleric Fethullah Gülen, whom Ankara accuses of the attempted coup in 2016.

For the time being the total number of provinces affected is unknown, although the Cumhuriyet newspaper has revealed that the dismissals have taken place mainly in eastern parts of the country.

Those affected are being investigated for alleged links to the brotherhood of the Islamist cleric Fethullah Gülen, which the Turkish government refers to as a "terrorist organisation".

Turkish media point out that the government is considering removing 400 of the 973 state representatives in cities and provinces, who are appointed directly by the central government.

Most of the dismissed officials are linked to the Islamist AKP, the party of the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Since the attempted coup more than 120,000 state officials have been dismissed and about 50,000 are in prison, accused of being part of the brotherhood in Gülen.

Gülen, who has been living in the USA for two decades, was until 2013 a close ally of Erdogan and the AKP, a time when many of the brotherhood's supporters were holding responsible positions in the state administration. The conservative preacher denies to be involved in the attempted military coup.