Ankara Marks Anniversary of Coup Attempt

UPDATED Ankara Marks Anniversary of Coup Attempt

BTA correspondent Nora Cholakova

BTA Photo

Ankara,

15.07.2024 12:42 | UPDATED 15.07.2024 14:33

(BTA)

Various ceremonies in Ankara mark the eighth anniversary of the coup attempt, behind which the Turkish authorities believe is the FETO (Fethullahist Terrorist Organization) group. July 15 has been declared Democracy and National Unity Day in Turkiye.

Huge Turkish flags and banners with the image of the founder of the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, are hung in many places in the capital.

Public transport in the capital is free. Turkish flags are also hung in the metro, and a large map of Turkiye with the images of all those who died in the coup attempt is displayed at the central subway station of Kizulay.

A commemorative ceremony will take place in Parliament, where flowers and wreaths will be laid at a memorial located in the area bombed during the coup. President Erdogan will attend the ceremony, Anatolian News Agency reported.

Meanwhile, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya attended the commemoration ceremony at Ankara's Karsiyaka cemetery, where some of the victims of July 15 are buried, Anka News Agency reported.

A total of 74 alleged members of the FETO group have been detained in a large-scale raid carried out over the past four days in various parts of Turkiye. This was announced by Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on his account on the social network X. The operation was carried out in 27 counties. It was found that the suspects were using ByLock, the encrypted communication programme of the FETO organization.

According to Turkish authorities, the FETO group of US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen was behind the coup attempt in July 2016. More than 250 people were killed and more than 2,500 injured in clashes with the coup plotters.

/DS/