About 40 Turkish NATO soldiers requested asylum

About 40 mostly high-ranking Turkish soldiers who worked at NATO facilities in Germany but were suspended after the failed coup in Turkey in July have requested asylum in Germany, news magazine Der Spiegel and broadcaster ARD reported yesterday. No comment was immediately available from the government or NATO officials. The reports of the asylum applications […]

About 40 mostly high-ranking Turkish soldiers who worked at NATO facilities in Germany but were suspended after the failed coup in Turkey in July have requested asylum in Germany, news magazine Der Spiegel and broadcaster ARD reported yesterday.
No comment was immediately available from the government or NATO officials.
The reports of the asylum applications filed by Turkish soldiers in Germany came as Chancellor Angela Merkel prepares to travel to Turkey to meet President Tayyip Erdogan.
Ties between the two NATO partners have been strained over issues including alleged spying by Turkish clerics in Germany, German concerns about Turkey’s crackdown on dissidents, and Ankara’s accusation that Berlin is harboring militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and far-leftists of the DHKP-C.