Turkish government reassigned 61 police chiefs to new positions amid crackdown

Turkish police officers are seen during a demonstration in Istanbul on October 26, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

The Turkish government has replaced the police chiefs of more than 60 provinces, including Izmir, Adana and Konya, as Ankara maintains its crackdown on individuals suspected of involvement in the abortive coup of mid-July, a report says.

Turkey's Official Gazette reported on Wednesday that the police chiefs of 61 out of Turkey's 81 provinces had been reassigned to positions outside their provinces.

The report did not specify when the reassignment took effect.

Two dozen of the 61 police chiefs were transferred from one province to another and the remaining 37 were newly appointed, Turkish media said, without stating the name of the provinces.

Servet Yilmaz and Adem Cakici, the police chiefs of the provinces of Kahramanmaras and Rize respectively, have been assigned the position of deputies to the head of the Turkish national police.

Separately, Turkey's private Dogan news agency reported on Wednesday that authorities had detained over 80 police officers in the port city of Istanbul. It added that the office of Istanbul's chief prosecutor had issued warrants for the arrest of at least 125 officers.

Dogan also said prosecutors in the Aegean city of Izmir had issued arrest warrants for 55 people in line with the government crackdown.

People are seen in Istanbul, Turkey, after they took over a military position from putschists on the Bosphorus Bridge, July 16, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Ankara has arrested more than 35,000 people over alleged links to Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Turkish cleric who is accused of orchestrating a coup attempt on July 15. Gulen denies any involvement in the move. More than 100,000 people employed in the civil service, judiciary, police and elsewhere have also been sacked or suspended.

On October 23, Turkey's broadcaster NTV quoted Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag as saying that Ankara was going to arrest another 3,907 individuals in connection with the abortive coup.