Turkey's fight against FETO abroad continues effectively

Continuing the fight against the Gülenist Terror Group (FETO) abroad, Turkish foreign missions have been working closely with authorities in their respective countries.

İrfan Neziroğlu, the Turkish ambassador to Sudan, told Anadolu Agency (AA), "We are closely tracking the remnants of FETO there [in Sudan]... FETO will not find ease anywhere in the world."

The ambassador added that FETO's presence in Sudan was weakened after a high-ranking member of the terrorist group was extradited to Turkey, thanks to the efforts of the Turkish intelligence agency.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen carried out the July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, which killed 250 people and wounded 2,200 others.

The terrorist organization has a presence in more than 150 countries around the world through schools, non-governmental organizations, lobbyists, media outlets and businesses.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Wednesday that Sudan stood in solidarity with Turkey "on every occasion."

"Sudan showed it was in solidarity with Turkey on every occasion, particularly in our fight against FETO," Çavuşoğlu said in his address at the 10th Ambassadors Conference in the capital Ankara.

Meanwhile, Murat Ülkü, the Turkish ambassador to Cameroon, said that the Central African country has been totally cleared of FETO.

He said that the students and teachers at former-FETO schools are doing much better after they were transferred to the stewardship of the Maarif Foundation, which was founded by the government to manage Turkish schools abroad.

Speaking to AA in Ankara during the conference, Ülkü said that Cameroon stands by Turkey's side in the fight against FETO and that the two countries are economic allies.

Before the July 2016 coup attempt, FETO owned six schools and seven "religious" institutions in Cameroon.

"Now, FETO has been fully driven out of Cameroon," said Ülkü.

He said that the government and people of Cameroon showed solidarity with Turkey.

"We, as a state, came to the country [Cameroon] too late, the FETO terrorists got here earlier and penetrated the public sphere and established a lot of local ties. But the people believed in us," he said.

All FETO-affiliated schools in Cameron have been handed over to the Maarif Foundation. The foundation is now working on a smooth transition for the teachers and students. "The quality of education will be much better," said Ülkü.

Fatma Ceren Yazgain, the Turkish ambassador in Tbilisi, told AA that although Turkey's demands on FETO have not yet been met by the Georgian government, there is close cooperation between the security forces of the two countries.

"We expect [from Georgian government] some serious steps [on FETO]," Yazgan said.

She added that the flow of FETO's financial resources from Turkey to Georgia has been cut but the terrorist group was still able to maintain its presence and activity in Georgia.

"The Turkish mission is looking to find out about the FETO sources in the country," she said.

Many countries have agreed to hand over FETO-linked schools to the Maarif Foundation, which manages Turkish schools abroad in coordination with the Education Ministry and Foreign Ministry.

The foundation is working to take control of FETO-linked schools in the African countries. Since its establishment, the foundation has made official contact with 90 countries and appointed directors to 40 countries so far. It currently runs 101 schools.

In a total of 12 countries, including Niger, Chad, Somalia and Sudan, 94 schools with more than 10,000 students have been handed over to the Maarif Foundation.

Turkey has asked several countries to shut down dozens of schools, colleges and businesses linked to the FETO network in the wake of the July 15 coup attempt blamed on the terrorist group's infiltrators in the military.

The terrorist group operates hundreds of schools around the world.