Turkey to shut military academies for 'cleansing' after failed coup

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that his country will shut its military academies and put the armed forces under the command of the Defence Minister Fikri Isik, in a move to bring the military under government control following the failed coup.

Asserting that the shake-up in the military was not yet over, Isik told broadcaster NTV that military academies would now be a target of "cleansing", reports the Guardian.

Talking about the changes, President Erdogan said that some of it would likely be announced in the government's official gazette by Sunday, which comes after more than 1,700 military personnel were dishonourably discharged this week for their role in July 15-16 coup.

The dishonourable discharges include around 40 percent of Turkey's admirals and generals.

Turkey accused Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. for orchestrating the coup to topple the government, a charge flatly denied by Gulen.

Erdogan has said 237 people were killed and more than 2,100 wounded during the failed coup which saw a faction of the military commandeered tanks, helicopters and fighter jets attempting to overthrow the government.

Reports suggest that more than 60,000 people in the military, judiciary, civil service and schools have been detained, removed or suspended over suspected links with Gulen.