UPDATE - End of FETO terrorists 'near,' says Turkish president

UPDATES WITH MORE QUOTES FROM TURKISH PRESIDENT

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) - The end of members of the terror group FETO both in Turkey and abroad is "near," warned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday.

"I call on all FETO members inside and outside our country: Your end is near. You have nowhere to go, nothing you can do," Erdogan told a symposium in the capital Ankara on the new presidential system.

Erdogan said Fetullah Gulen, the U.S.-based ringleader of the terror group behind the defeated 2016 coup, will come to Turkey "sooner or later".

"I don't know how long those who stood behind FETO [leader Gulen] will keep supporting him, but sooner or later he will come here," said Erdogan.

Turkish leaders recently indicated that the U.S. has stepped up operations against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) in America, as well as renewed efforts to extradite Gulen, a longtime resident of Pennsylvania.

FETO and Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 in Turkey, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, including the military, police, and the judiciary.

Erdogan said that Turkey will follow FETO members "until they have no place left in the world to hide."

He also said Turkey countered attacks "quickly and effectively" over the last 16 years through its democracy and economy.

"Hopefully, Turkey will enter a strong new period in 2019," Erdogan added.