Berk Kutay Gökmen
16 July 2026•Update: 16 July 2026
Türkiye’s president on Thursday pledged to continue to fight against the terrorist group FETO until it is “totally eradicated” as the nation marks the 10th anniversary of the group’s defeated July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
"Let no one have any doubt: our fight will continue until FETO is totally eradicated and this treacherous network, which disguises itself in every possible form, is uprooted once and for all," Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.
"Ten years ago, on the night of July 15, we, as a nation, wrote a magnificent epic together. I once again extend my congratulations and gratitude to the heroic members of our Turkish Armed Forces who remained loyal on that night to the honorable uniform entrusted to them by the nation in the face of the FETO terrorist plotters who betrayed that uniform; to all of our security forces—our gendarmerie, police, special operations personnel, and intelligence officers; and to every member of our noble nation, women and men, young and old, who took to the streets carrying flags in their hands, prayers on their lips, and love for Türkiye in their hearts, denying the coup plotters control of the public squares.”
Erdogan expressed his gratitude to “all of our brothers and sisters around the world who raised their hands in prayer, saying, 'May no harm come to Türkiye,' and soaked their prayer rugs with tears."
"Each of our 253 martyrs and every one of our 2,737 veterans has countless memories and stories from that night. May God bless the souls of all our martyrs, who are the eternal seals of our homeland's existence, and grant them a place in Paradise,” he said.
The defeated coup attempt, in which 253 people were killed and 2,734 were wounded, was plotted and carried out by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
