Turkey replaces 28 elected officials with appointees
None
Clashes erupted between police and protesters Sunday, after Ankara announced it had replaced 28 elected municipal and district mayors in several predominantly Kurdish towns in Turkey's east and southeast.
The officials being replaced are suspected of colluding with groups the government considers terrorist organizations, the Interior Ministry announced Sunday, adding that the decision was in line with the governmental decree enacted on Sept. 1. Of those replaced, 24 are suspected of ties with the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK, and four are thought to be linked to the Gulen movement allegedly responsible for the abortive coup which killed over 270 people.
Turkey declared a state of emergency following a failed military coup on July 15 that allows the government to rule by decree. It has since suspended tens of thousands of people from government jobs over suspected links to terrorist organizations.
