(MENAFN- Saudi Press Agency) Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan denounced 'international groups' and 'dark alliances' on Saturday for entangling Turkey in a corruption scandal that has exposed deep rifts between him and a U.S.-based Muslim cleric who helped him rise to power.
Sixteen people, including the sons of two ministers and the head of state-owned Halkbank, were formally arrested on Saturday, local media said, in a corruption inquiry that Erdogan has called a 'dirty operation' to underminine his rule.
The Turkish leader raised the stakes by accusing unnamed foreign ambassadors of 'provocative actions'. Some pro-government newspapers had accused the U.S. envoy of encouraging the move against Halkbank - a charge denied by the embassy.
'There are extremely dirty alliances in this set-up, dark alliances that can't tolerate the new Turkey, the big Turkey,' Erdogan in a speech in the northern town of Fatsa. 'Turkey has never been subjected to such an immoral attack.'
The furore, which has roiled markets, is seen as reflecting a power struggle between Erdogan and his former ally Fethullah Gulen, who wields influence in the police and judiciary.
Dozens of police chiefs have been removed from their posts since the detentions of bribery suspects began,
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