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Hundreds of Turkish police officers 'sacked' | |
(35 minutes later) | |
Turkey has sacked 350 police officers in the capital Ankara, following a corruption probe targeting people close to the government, reports say. | |
Officials, mostly from outside the city, have been named to replace them. | |
Hundreds of police have been dismissed or reassigned across the country since last month's corruption investigation. Three cabinet ministers resigned after their sons were detained in the raids. | |
The prime minister has accused the police and judiciary of a "dirty plot". | |
The arrests were carried out as part of an inquiry into alleged bribery involving public tenders. | |
Those detained in the 17 December raids included public officials and businessmen close to the prime minister. | |
'Political plotting' | |
The latest round of police sackings and reassignments were carried out under a government decree published at midnight. | |
Those removed from their posts include chiefs of the financial crimes, anti-smuggling and organised crime units, the private Dogan News Agency reported. | |
The move comes as the government is trying to contain the fall-out from the corruption inquiry. | |
Many believe the arrests and firings reflect a feud within Turkey's ruling AK Party between those who back Mr Erdogan, and supporters of Fethullah Gulen, an influential Islamic scholar living in self-imposed exile in the US. | |
Members of Mr Gulen's Hizmet movement are said to hold influential positions in institutions such as the police, the judiciary and the AK Party itself. | |
Mr Erdogan has said he would not allow "political plotting". |