Afghan security forces take control of ‘FETO’ school

By Sayed Khodaberdi Sadat

HERAT

Afghan security forces have assumed control of a high school linked to Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

The security forces took over the school in Herat located in the western part of the country despite confrontation by some students, according to an Afghan local official.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency in the province, Jailani Farhad, the spokesman of Herat governor, said that the operation was carried out in order to hand over the school to firstly Afghan authorities and later to Turkey’s Maarif Foundation.

The school was handed over to the Maarif Foundation within the framework of an education deal between the two countries, the foundation’s Afghanistan Country Director Mucip Uludag said.

Turkey established the Maarif Foundation (TMF) in 2016, following a coup attempt, to take over the administration of overseas schools linked to FETO. The foundation also establishes schools and education centers abroad.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

As part of the deal, the foundation also took control of two more schools and two dormitories in the northern Jawzjan province, Uludag said.

"Let nobody worry about this: We will educate our Afghan brothers with a more qualified and more modern education system," the Turkish official added.