Turkey: Fugitive pro-coup generals' identities revealed

By Sarp Ozer

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish authorities on Tuesday revealed the identities of several generals who have been on the run since July 15 failed coup that claimed hundreds of lives.

According to a military source who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking with media, two rear admirals, four commodores and a brigadier general are among the fugitive top commanders.

On Monday, Turkish Minister of Defense Fikri Isik said 311 soldiers, including nine generals and admirals, remained at large after the deadly coup attempt.

Turkey's government has repeatedly said the deadly coup attempt, which martyred more than 230 people and injured nearly 2,200 others, was organized by the followers of U.S.-based preacher, Fetullah Gulen.

The high-ranking officers were identified as Rear admiral Hayrettin Imran, commodores Ayhan Bay, Nazmi Ekinci and Irfan Arabaci. Imran is also the former commander of a naval main base in the Golcuk district of northwestern province of Kocaeli.

Another commander named as Brigadier general Ali Kalyoncu was the one who had reportedly ordered the tanks to proceed toward the center of the capital Ankara on the night of the bloody putsch.

The same source said the fugitive officers escaped on a boat belonging to the Turkish coast guard and fled in a vehicle - waiting for them - after reaching a pier in the Izmit district of Kocaeli province.

In addition, the police failed to get testimonies from Rear Admiral Mustafa Zeki Ugurlu and Commodore Ali Suat, for whom an arrest warrant was issued as part of a probe into parallel state members within the Turkish army.

The parallel state, a movement led by Gulen and his supporters, is a purported group of Turkish bureaucrats and senior officials embedded in the country's institutions, including the judiciary and police, who are allegedly trying to undermine the Turkish government.