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| Soldiers detained for suspected coup involvement are brought to court in Istanbul |
Turkey has formally charged 99
generals and admirals in connection with the weekend's thwarted coup
attempt, just under a third of the country's 356 top military officers.
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| President Erdogan, seen here outside his Istanbul home, is now back in Ankara for meetings |
He chaired a five-hour emergency meeting of the National Security Council and was expected to lay out a series of emergency measures later on Wednesday, sources told the Reuters news agency.
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So far about 1,577 university deans (faculty heads) have been asked to resign in addition to 21,000 teachers and 15,000 education ministry officials. They are suspected of having links to the alleged mastermind of the coup, US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen - who denies any involvement.
Some 626 institutions have also been shut down, most of them private educational establishments, officials say.
Meanwhile, Turkish F-16 fighter jets launched an operation to check reports that two missing coastguard vessels were trying to reach Greek waters, but details were few.
As soon as it became clear that the coup had failed on Saturday, the purges began - first with the security forces, then spreading to Turkey's entire civilian infrastructure.
Human rights group Amnesty International has warned the purges are being extended to censor media outlets and journalists, including those critical of government policy. "We are witnessing a crackdown of exceptional proportions in Turkey at the moment.
"While it is understandable, and legitimate, that the government wishes to investigate and punish those responsible for this bloody coup attempt, they must abide by the rule of law and respect freedom of expression," Amnesty's Turkey researcher Andrew Gardner said.