Turkey's Erdogan says mayors' dismissal long overdue

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday defended the suspension of 28 mayors over alleged links to Kurdish militants or US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, saying it was a long-overdue move. It should have been taken long before," Erdogan told reporters after prayers at an Istanbul mosque on the first day of the Muslim feast of Eid Al-Adha. "You, as mayors and municipal councils, cannot stand up and support terrorist organisations.