Ankara - Turkish authorities arrested another thousand people on Wednesday over suspected links with the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, the archenemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. It's the latest in a massive purge targeting civil servants since a failed coup nine months ago, which Turkey blames on Gulen's supporters. In the wake of the July coup attempt, authorities have arrested more than 40,000 people – including soldiers, police, teachers – and sacked or suspended 120,000. The latest roundup was said to target the police force and is one of the biggest in recent months. It comes just a day after a top human rights body, the Council of Europe, put Turkey on a watchlist following a referendum earlier this month giving Erdogan sweeping new powers.
