PAYBACK

Turkey Purges 8,000 From Police Ranks

Bloody scenes of revenge after failed coup.

Violent recriminations are underway in Turkey in the aftermath of the weekend’s failed military coup. Early Monday, some 8,000 police officers were fired as more than 24 generals were being interrogated over the attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government. Erdoğan vowed to purge the government of the “virus” that caused the coup, and has so far rounded up and dismissed 30 regional governors and more than 50 high-ranking civil servants. At least 290 people died, some from tanks and helicopters reportedly firing on civilians. Some 6,000 people are said to have been detained over the weekend, with half of those coming from the military. Photographs circulated on news and social media of people loyal to the government dishing out brutal beatings, and soldiers and commanders were shown stripped to their underwear and handcuffed on the floors of police buses and sports halls.