Following claims of notorious criminal gang leader Sedat Peker on Twitter regarding over 100 thousand missing rifles, the discussion in society continues. Retired General Haldun Solmaztürk said this amount of rifles would be enough to equip 20 brigades while seasoned journalist Uğur Dündar asked "is the a new parallel structure within the state?" Ministerial data confirms that 107.000 rifles have gone missing without clarifying where they were sent to.

"NUMBER ONE SECURITY PROBLEM IN TURKEY"

Journalist Uğur Dündar said during a TV program, "as the elder generations that have lived through similar things multiple times, we are shivering upon hearing 'missing rifles'. It is the people governing the country who should shiver. No one can be certain about whom those rifles will be pointed at some day. This is the number one security problem in Turkey at the moment. Who are they? Where have they got the weapons and ammunition from? Whom did they give the rifles and ammunion to? What for?.."

"MOSTLY AUTOMATIC RIFLES"

Retired General Haldun Solmaztürk appeared on Bizim TV, "according to the official data the weapons registered under Security Directorate General and Gendarme Command that have gone missing are around 100 thousand. This is a huge number; imagine a brigade consists of 5.000 soldiers and you can establish 20 brigades with this. Majority of the missing weapons are automatic rifles, not just pistols I mean. This is of utmost importance..."

"PROSECUTORS TO DUTY"

Main opposition Republican People's Party CHP's former member of parliament Mehmet Tüm said "there is an exponential growth in the number of missing weapons in the military. In 2014 there were 14.000 missing rifles, but following the July 15 coup attempt the number of missing rifles showed a 7.5 fold. At the moment total number of missing rifles is around 107.000, I filed multiple complaints regarding this; it must be investigated primarily at the Parliament. There must be established a commission and Chief Public Prosecutors must come to duty to investigate this. There must also be led campaigns against armament in society.

MINISTRY OF INTERIOR CONFIRMS

Ministry of Interior's data on missing or stolen weapons, confirms the claims of 107 thousand missing rifles. According to the official data, in 2014 there were 14.682 missing rifles in Turkey which grew to 91.120 in 2015 only a year after. By 2016 the number had risen to 107.628; while in 2017 the number of missing weapons was announced as 106.740. In 2018 similar discussions had erupted in Turkey and by then the Ministry of Interior had claimed that the number of missing rifles is accumulation of all the missing and stolen rifles between 1944-2017. However there was put forward no explanation as to how the number increased exponentially from 2014 (14.683) to 2017 (107.628).

SEDAT PEKER'S CLAIMS

While the Ministry of Interior refuted claims of rifle distribution to civilians, Sedat Peker had claimed "after July 15 2016 coup attempt, civilians were given kalasnikov rifles, in a detailed explanation, as he also revealed the names of those involved in the process, pointing at links to AKP Youth Units. Peker ended his claims with a question targeting the Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu, "why have you continued to distribute weapons following the coup attempt in 2016, with the support of those shady people behind you who want to see you as the President?"