ISTANBUL (AFP) - Turkey's Supreme Military Council began a crucial annual meeting Monday days after the shock mass resignation of the top brass in a clash with the government over promotions. The meeting, which reviews the promotion prospects of senior officers, opened under the direction of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan but, for the first time ever, without the country's four top generals in attendance. Armed forces chief Isik Kosaner and the separate heads of the army, navy and air force all dramatically resigned Friday in a row with Ankara over the promotion of dozens of officers held in a probe of alleged plots to oust the government.