A statement from the Istanbul Governor’s Office announced on Monday that a reception held every Aug. 30 for Victory Day has been cancelled in memory of security force members and civilians killed in terrorist attacks and in a failed coup attempt on July 15.
Victory Day marks the 92nd anniversary of the Turkish victory against Greek forces at the Battle of Dumlupınar, the final battle of the War of Independence.
Instead of a reception, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will host relatives of the slain security force members and civilians for a dinner at his presidential palace in Ankara.
Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15 that killed some 240 people and wounded a thousand others, while the country has lost dozens of civilians, soldiers and police officers in terror attacks carried out by either the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).