The Turkish Armed Forces sacked 109 military judges on Thursday, the defense ministry said, further extending a crackdown which has targeted tens of thousands of state employees as part of an investigation into an attempted coup in July.

 

Ankara says a stream of suspensions, dismissals and arrests since then are aimed at rooting out supporters of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara says masterminded the putsch.

 

Gulen denies accusations he was behind the coup, during which more than 240 people, including civilians, were killed as rogue soldiers used jets, helicopters and tanks to bomb government institutions, including the parliament.

 

Some 32,000 people have been jailed and 100,000 members of the security and civil services, teachers and others have been fired or suspended from work in the crackdown.

 

The latest defense ministry move, announced on Twitter, brought the number of sacked military judges to 209 of the total 468 before the coup, according to the privately-owned Dogan news agency.

 

Among those dismissed are the former legal advisors to the chief of general staff and the air force, it said.

 

Concerns have been voiced about the crackdown's impact on state institutions, and the coast guard command on Thursday carried on its website a notice seeking 760 new soldiers.

 

On Wednesday, Turkish authorities issued arrest warrants for 215 more police officers and the defense ministry said the armed forces had dismissed more than 200 personnel.

 

The purges within the armed forces, NATO's second largest, has resulted in thousands of soldiers being discharged, and around 40 percent of generals.

 

President Tayyip Erdogan vowed to restructure the military after the coup and the coast guard command was brought under interior ministry control and its commander dismissed.

 

In its notice, the coast guard command said it would hire 50 officers, 105 sergeants, and 605 privates under contracts, and announced applicants must have no links to any "terrorist organization or its legal and illegal extensions".