Turkey has named a new army chief of staff and reshuffled other high-ranking military posts amidst growing concern over a possible US military operation against the neighboring country of Iraq, military officials said Saturday.
General Hilmi Ozkok, aged 62, who has been the commander of the ground forces for the past two years, will replace chief of staff General Huseyin Kivrikoglu, who is due to retire at the end of August following a four-year term, the army said in a statement carried by Anatolia news agency.
The post left vacant by Ozkok will be taken over by General Tahir Aytac Yalman, the 62-year-old commander of Turkey's paramilitary forces since 2000, it added. The second-in-command of ground forces, Mehmet Sener Eruygur, was promoted to head the paramilitary forces, the statement said. (Albawaba.com)
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