Turkey is commemorating the first anniversary of the defeat of last year's attempted coup today. The authorities have declared July 15 an annual national holiday of "democracy and unity" and organised series of events honouring people who were killed on the same day last year, while trying to stop the insurrection. <br/><br/>Meanwhile, state run Anadolu news agency reported that authorities dismissed more than 7,000 police, soldiers and ministry officials yesterday under a new decree.<br/><br/>249 people, were killed when a disgruntled faction in the army sent tanks into the streets and war planes into the sky in a violent bid to overthrow, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power since 2003, first as Prime Minister and later as President. <br/><br/>The government has blamed the coup on the movement led by US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally and accused of infiltrating state institutions over decades to carry out the insurgency. <br/><br/>Turkish authorities have sacked over 100,000 and arrested 50,000 people in connection with the coup.