Arrests in Turkey spiral to 10,410

ISTANBUL — The number of people arrested in Turkey following last week’s attempted coup has climbed to 10,410, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the Anadolu news agency in late-night comments.

Reports Friday had put the number at about 9,000.

Of those arrested, 4,060 have been placed in detention, Erdogan said.

The rapid pace of arrests, Erdogan insists, is targeting supporters of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Erdogan says was behind the failed July 15 coup. Turkey is demanding that the United States extradite Gulen.

Ankara, meanwhile, has intensified checks on Turkish citizens leaving the country in a move to prevent people associated with the attempted coup from escaping the authorities.

Turks travelling from any of the country’s international airports will now have to provide proof of their employment, sources close to the government said Friday.

Civil servants as well as their spouses and children will need authorization by their employer to travel, while other employees will have to prove they work in the private sector and are therefore not civil servants.

The government has vowed to “clean” the civil service from Gulen supporters.

All civil servants have been banned from going on holiday, while those currently abroad have been asked to return home.

Turkey entered into a 90day state of emergency on Thursday, which Erdogan has said is necessary to restore order after the coup, which left 260 dead.

Citizens have to defend themselves against the “most insidious and vile coup attempt in the history of the Turkish people,” Erdogan told Anadolu.

Yasin Aktay, spokesperson for Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP), said, of the 10,410 people arrested, 7,423 were soldiers; 287 were police; and 2,014 judges and prosecutors.

Furthermore, 686 civilians had been arrested.

Of the soldiers, 162 were generals — almost half the generals in the second-largest army of the NATO alliance.

Beyond the arrests, more than 37,500 civil servants and police officers have been suspended.

Additionally, 21,000 teachers in private schools have lost their licences.