President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan approved the retirement of 30 generals and admirals on July 23, 2020, including two commanders whose actions during Turkey’s 2016 coup attempt have remained the subject of conflicting testimony and unanswered questions.
The Supreme Military Council said the officers would be retired because no positions were available for them.
Among them were Lt. Gen. Zekai Aksakallı, the former head of the Special Forces Command and then commander of the 2nd Corps, and Gen. İsmail Metin Temel, a former commander of the 2nd Army.
Aksakallı was presented by the government as one of the commanders who helped defeat the coup attempt after ordering Noncommissioned Officer Ömer Halisdemir to kill Brig. Gen. Semih Terzi at Special Forces headquarters.
His conduct that night later became the subject of questions during coup trials, including why he had authorized Terzi’s travel to Ankara, why he reportedly ordered personnel to allow Terzi into the headquarters and why he remained away from the base until the following morning.
Temel also appeared on television during the coup attempt to condemn the military uprising and later commanded Turkish operations in northern Syria.
Under the Supreme Military Council decisions, 17 generals and admirals were promoted to a higher rank, while 51 colonels were promoted to general or admiral.
The terms of 35 generals and admirals were extended for one year, while those of 294 colonels were extended for two years.
The retirement decisions were scheduled to take effect on August 30.
