Turkey’s president said on Thursday that he sees no difference between terrorists groups such as Daesh, the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) -- the group behind last year’s defeated coup attempt in Turkey -- and Boko Haram, a terrorist group that has plagued Nigeria.
At a joint press conference at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara alongside his visiting Nigerian counterpart Muhammadu Buhari, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “I would like to express that there is no difference between FETÖ, Daesh, and Boko Haram, no matter what they serve or claim or their name – all of them are gangs of murderers who feed on the blood of innocents.”
Boko Haram, a Daesh-affiliated group based in northeastern Nigeria, has killed tens of thousands and displaced 2.3 million from their homes, according to Amnesty International and the UN, and was ranked the world's deadliest terror group by the 2015 Global Terrorism Index.
Erdoğan reiterated that the fight against FETÖ is not just for Turkey, but helps Turkey’s friends as well.
FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup attempt of July 15, 2016, which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
FETÖ also has a considerable global presence, including private educational institutions in Africa that serve as a revenue stream for the terrorist group.
Turkey is trying to take over all FETÖ-affiliated schools across Africa through its Maarif Foundation, including such schools in Nigeria.
Buhari is scheduled to attend the Developing-8 Countries (D-8) meeting in Istanbul on Friday.
The ninth summit marks the 20th anniversary of the economic group made up of eight emerging economies from the Muslim world.
The organization was established on June 15, 1997 by Turkey, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria and Pakistan.
Today, the organization has a combined GDP of $3.7 trillion and includes more than one billion people -- around 15 percent of the world’s population.
Two of its members -- Turkey and Indonesia -- are among the group of the world’s 20 biggest economies.
