Turkish president issues decree introducing major changes to military

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
(Image credit: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images)

On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued his third decree since a failed coup on July 15, giving the president and prime minister the authority to issue direct orders to the commanders of the army, air force, and navy.

Turkey is under a three-month state of emergency, declared after the attempted coup. Erdogan also announced that 1,389 military personnel, including his chief military adviser and the defense minister's chief secretary, have been discharged. Since the failed coup, more than 10,000 people have been arrested and almost 70,000 in the media, education, health care, military, and judicial sectors have been suspended from their jobs or fired. On Saturday, Erdogan stated he planned to shutter Turkey's military academies.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.