‘Ankara plays important role to defeat coup attempt’

By Muhammet Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA

Turkey’s capital Ankara played an important role to defeat the 2016 coup attempt, a ruling party lawmaker said on Thursday.

"Our parliament assumed the title of Ghazi for the second time on July 15," Nevzat Ceylan, lawmaker of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, told reporters in the parliament, referring to the date of the defeated coup.

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.

"Most of the people got martyred in Ankara on July 15 [...]," he added.

The defeated coup left 55 people martyred and wounded 800 others in Ankara alone.

Ceylan noted that Ankara "played an important role in the second freedom war on July 15."

Turkey 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.