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ANKARA, Turkey — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints transferred 15 of its volunteers from Turkey to Germany, where they will serve Turkish speakers in Berlin, according to the LDS Church.

The LDS Church released a statement Wednesday saying they anticipate the volunteers will go back to Turkey when conditions in the country “normalize.”

“Our prayers are with the people of Turkey and with our Church members who live there,” the LDS Church said in the statement.

On July 15, the LDS Church declared that all Mormon missionaries in Turkey were safe in spite of an attempted coup.

According to the Associated Press, the country was “riding high in 2010” but is now “mired in tension with neighbors and allies.”

“The changes that led to this turn in Turkey's fortunes include internal rifts — the collapse of a Kurdish peace process and the alleged erosion of democratic rights under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are among them — as well as the war in Syria and other regional chaos in which Turkey has taken sides,” Christopher Torchia with the Associated Press wrote.

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