Turkey Demands Greece to Hand Over 8 Turkish Military Escapees

Ankara, 11 Syawal 1437/16 July 2016 (MINA) – Turkish Foreign Minister Mawloud Jaoush Oglu on Saturday called on Greece to return to Turkey eight soldiers who took part in the failed coup and fled afterwards in a military helicopter to the Greek border city of Alexandroupolis, KUNA reported.

“We demand the return of the eight treasonous soldiers expeditiously who fled to Greece (after the aborted coup),” said Oglu in a press statement, adding that Greek authorities expressed readiness to cooperate with Turkey.

The military helicopter had landed earlier today in Alexandroupolis with eight Turkish passengers aboard, seven soldiers and one civilian. They all asked for political asylum in Greece.

This incident is occurring on the backdrop of the recent failed coup in Turkey, where a group of disaffected soldiers sparked a coup in Turkey’s principal cities of Istanbul and Ankara.

The attempted coup has resulted in the death of 161 people and the injury of 1440 more.

Up to 2839 soldiers, among them high-ranking officers, have been arrested.  (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)