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Reports have it that Turkey has again detained 45 air force pilots, while 28 others have been declared wanted, in connection to the July attempted military coup.
Warrants of detention for the pilots comprising 71 lieutenants and two colonels, were issued by a prosecutor in the central Konya province, more reports from Istanbul say.
Since the coup attempt in July by a faction in the military, the Turkish government had reportedly arrested more than 30,000 people.
Tens of thousands of public sector employees had also been dismissed, while thousands of army officers including high-ranking generals had been fired.
Metin Gurcan, a Turkish military analyst, said that after the first wave of dismissals, the number of active pilots in the country had dropped from about 600 to just over 300.
He said the new set of detentions would further decrease the number.
Gurcan said Turkey now have more warplanes than pilots.
“Turkey is carrying out airstrikes in both Syria and Iraq, largely against Kurdish militants. It has also hit the Islamic State,’’ he said.
The government blames the coup attempt on Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish preacher based in the United States.
Gulen, who was once a long-time ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan until they split a few years ago, denies the charges.