The Turkish cabinet agreed late Monday to extend the current "state of emergency" for another three months from Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said late Monday.
The extension came one day after the approval by Turkish voters of constitutional changes boosting the president's powers on Sunday.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus gives a speech during a press conference after the cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey on March 13, 2017. /CFP Photo
Following an evening Cabinet meeting, Numan Kurtulmus said that the ministers discussed the National Security Council's recommendation that the country's ongoing state of emergency be extended.
The reason given for the latest extension is to struggle against terror threats, primarily against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) that the government accuses of staging last year’s coup attempt, he added.
People gathered to support Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 20, 2016, in Istanbul after the failed coup attempt five days earlier. /CFP Photo
The state of emergency has been renewed twice before in October and January after it was first declared on July 20, days after the failed military coup which killed 249 people and injured some 2,200 others.
According to the Turkish Constitution, a state of emergency can be declared for a maximum period of six months.
Related stories
6842km
