Turkey replaces 28 elected officials

ISTANBUL — Turkish police used water cannons and teargas to disperse protesters Sunday after Ankara announced it had replaced 28 elected municipal and district mayors in several predominantly Kurdish towns in Turkey’s east and southeast.

The removed officials are suspected of colluding with groups the government considers terrorist organizations, the Interior Ministry announced Sunday, adding that the decision was in line with a governmental decree enacted in the wake of a failed military coup.

Turkey declared a state of emergency following a July 15 coup attempt.