Turkey orders arrest of 249 foreign ministry staff

Turkish authorities yesterday ordered the arrest of 249 past and present foreign ministry personnel suspected of ties to the group blamed for a failed 2016 coup, the prosecutor’s office said.

At least 78 have already been detained, the office in the capital Ankara said. The latest crackdown is part of a probe in 42 cities into alleged irregularities in the foreign ministry entrance exam in favour of members of a movement led by US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen.

The suspects joined the foreign ministry between 2010 and 2013, according to the prosecutor’s office.