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Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged African countries to close schools associated to an exiled cleric, whom the president accused of planning the countrys abortive coup in July 2016.

Erdogan undertook a three-legged tour to East Africa this week, with stops in Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar. During a public address in the Mozambican capital Maputo Wednesday, the Turkish leader asked the government for support in cracking down on followers of the cleric Fethullah Gulen.

We know that cells of this group are present here in Mozambique, and are replicating their initiatives and their hidden agendas in several parts of the world, said Erdogan, sharing a platform with Mozambiques President Filipe Nyusi, the African News Agency reported.

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Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) inspect a guard of honor during a state visit to Mozambique on January 24 in Maputo. Erdogan claimed "terrorists" linked to Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen were active in Mozambique. ADRIEN BARBIER/AFP/Getty

Erdogan blamed Gulen and his followers for the failed coup. Tens of thousands of people from all walks of Turkish societyincluding soldiers, teachers and police officershave been arrested or detained in the wake of the coup, during which a faction of the Turkish military attempted to seize control of several key cities and fired upon the Turkish parliament and presidential palace.

Gulen has denounced the coup attempt and denied any involvement. The Islamic cleric, a former Erdogan ally who went into exile in the United States in 1999, leads a global socioreligious movement known as the Hizmet (the Service), though the Turkish authorities have dubbed it FETOa Turkish acronym for Gulenist Terror Organization.

The movement runs a large network of Islamic schools and other associations in different parts of the world, including Africa. The Turkish ambassador to Nigeria asked the countrys authorities to shut down 17 schools in the West African country that were purportedly run by Gulens supporters in the wake of the coup. In Mozambique, one of the countrys most prestigious schoolsthe Willow International School in Maputois reportedly run by the Gulenist movement and is where many high-ranking officials send their children for education.

Nyusi did not mention publicly whether he would act upon Erdogans warning. Newsweek reached out to the Mozambique High Commission in the U.K. but received no immediate reply. Newsweek also asked the Willow International School for confirmation of its status but had not received comment at the time of publication.

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Turkey's President Erdogan Warns Coup-Plotting 'Terrorists' Are Active in Mozambique - Newsweek