Military attaches, diplomats flee post-coup inquiry

Two Turkish military attaches in Greece fled to Italy, others were caught overseas and some diplomats were on the run after being recalled as part of an inquiry into last month’s failed military coup, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Thursday. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told private broadcaster NTV that two military attaches in Greece – […]

Two Turkish military attaches in Greece fled to Italy, others were caught overseas and some diplomats were on the run after being recalled as part of an inquiry into last month’s failed military coup, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told private broadcaster NTV that two military attaches in Greece – a naval and an army officer – had fled by car and ferry to Italy, but that Turkish officials would seek their return.
Cavusoglu said a military attache based in Kuwait had also tried to escape through Saudi Arabia, but had been sent back, as well as two generals based in Afghanistan who had been caught in Dubai by UAE authorities and returned to Turkey.
The hunt for fugitive Turkish officers and officials overseas expands the crackdown at home, where tens of thousands of troops, police and bureaucrats have been detained, dismissed or investigated for alleged links to the coup, which authorities blame on U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen