*** ----> Turkey orders arrest of 249 foreign ministry staff | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

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.