Lieutenant-General Zekai Aksakallı (born 25 December 1961) is a Turkish
Special Forces Command commander. He graduated from the
Turkish Military Academy. He was commander of the Turkish forces inside Syria in 2016 following the coup d'état attempt.
Biography
Born in
Erzurum, Zekai Aksakallı is the father of two children. At the age of 17 he attended Erzurum High School and he represented Turkey in the high school
cross-country championship organized in Austria for a number of years and became 27th among 397 athletes. Gen. Aksakallı has been serving as commander of the
Special Forces Command since 2013. Aksakallı played a major role with his
staff sergeant
Staff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services.
History of title
In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administrative, superv ...
Sgt. Maj. Ömer Halisdemir
Ömer Halisdemir (February 20, 1974 – July 16, 2016) was a Turkish non-commissioned officer, who was killed on duty in the night of failed 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, immediately after he shot dead pro-coup general Semih Terzi and preve ...
in the prevention of the
2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt. As a result of his success, he was promoted to
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...
at the
YAŞ meeting on 28 July 2016. The General Staff Special Forces Commander, Major General Zekai Aksakallı, who reacted against the coup attempt of
Fetullahçı Terrorist Organization (FETO) by saying "Terrorists will not be successful", caught attention in Turkish public opinion. He was commander of the Turkish forces inside Syria in 2016 following the coup d'état attempt.
Zekai Aksakallı speaks English. He is an active officer of Turkish Armed Forces since 1984.
Ranks
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aksakalli, Zekai
Living people
Turkish Army generals
People involved in the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt
1962 births
People from Erzurum