Turkey’s relations with allies strained by coup crackdown

The government has expressed growing annoyance over what it sees as a lack of support from its allies in the European Union over its response to the failed July 15 coup, saying it expected solidarity rather than criticism for the widespread crackdown on those suspected of links to the coup plotters.

The attempted coup left 271 people dead in a night of violence when renegade sections of the military used tanks, fighter jets and helicopters to try to overthrow the government.

In a sign of efforts to shore up relations, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford, visited Turkey and met with his Turkish counterpart Gen. Hulusi Akar, who was briefly held captive by the rebels during the coup, as well as with Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.

Hicks said the general would also reaffirm “the importance of our enduring partnership for regional security,” citing operations out of the Incirlik air base against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.