ANKARA: Turkey has suspended more than 250 senior local officials over alleged terror links and activities unrelated to their posts, the interior ministry said on Monday, in the latest purge of the country’s bureaucracy.

Interior Minister Suley­man Soylu removed 259 local neighbourhood heads — known as “muhtar” in Tur­­kish — from their posts, his office said in a statement.

It did not provide further detail on what terror organisations the officials were allegedly linked to.

The muhtar is the elected chief of a village or a city neighbourhood, and responsible for day-to-day services for residents such as registration.

Turkey has suspended or sacked over 140,000 public sector employees because of alleged links to the US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen blamed for the July 2016 failed coup and Kurdish militants. Tur­key claims Gulen ordered the coup but he denies the accusations.

Last week, the ministry suspended 559 village gua­rds — locals employed to combat Kurdish militants — accused of links to terror organisations while 76 were accused of people trafficking and drug crimes.

Turkey has been fighting an insurgency against the outlawed Kurdistan Wor­k­ers’ Party (PKK) since 1984.

The group is blacklisted as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.

Turkish authorities detai­ned 137 people in country-wide operations earlier this month over alleged links to the PKK.

Published in Dawn, October 16th, 2018