ANKARA (Sputnik) — Turkish authorities could lift the state of emergency introduced in the country after the thwarted military coup attempt in January 2017, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said on Tuesday.
"If a decision to introduce the state of emergency had not been made, we would not have been able to undertake many steps aimed at struggle against terrorism. If political situation allows, the state of emergency could be lifted [in January]," Kurtulmus said at a press conference.
On July 15, a military coup attempt took place in Turkey. It was suppressed the following day. Over 240 people were killed during the coup attempt and an estimated 2,000 were wounded. Thousands of people, including military officers, high-ranking civil servants and teachers have been detained or sacked in the country since the attempted overthrow of the Turkish government.
Following the coup, the Turkish authorities imposed the nation-wide emergency rule for three months, which has later been extended for the same period.
