Tens of thousands of supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan rallied in the German city of Cologne on Sunday as tensions over Turkey's failed coup put authorities on edge.
Waving the Turkish flag and chanting "Turkey", the demonstrators turned the rally site next to the River Rhine into a sea of red as they began the demonstration by singing the Turkish and German national anthems.
Police put the turnout at around 40,000 by 1500 GMT. "We are here because our compatriots in Germany are standing up for democracy and against the attempted military coup in Turkey," said Turkey's sports minister Akif Cagatay Kilic at the rally, Tagesspiegel daily reported.
"The message to be sent from the event is that in Turkey, all parties and NGOs want to stand together against the coup and to defend democracy," added the minister, who was born in Germany. Since the attempted July 15 power grab, Erdogan's government has launched a crackdown, detaining almost 19,000 people and sparking international concern.
Ratcheting up its clampdown on the military, Ankara on Sunday dismissed nearly 1,400 military personnel, including a top aide to Erdogan, and confirmed it would close military schools and academies."
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