Yildirim didn’t provide details at the time, but said Turkey would never allow any “initiative that would interrupt democracy”.
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“We are focusing on the possibility of an attempt”, Yildirim said. Gulen has denied involvement, reported theguardian.com.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters in Moscow that he has been given reports about what is going on. “There was an illegal act by a group within the military that was acting out of the chain of military command”. Later, after the military was kicked out, she said she was forced to read the military statement.
Erdogan, who had been holidaying on the coast when the coup was launched, flew into Istanbul before dawn on Saturday and was shown on TV appearing among a crowd of supporters outside the airport, which the coup plotters had failed to secure. This government brought to power by the people is in charge. Urges people to take to the streets.
The district’s prosecutor office opened a detailed investigation with the special operations department, aviation department of security general directorate, police academy and satellite agency Turksat’s campus into the coup attempt.
Turkey’s Parliament building in Ankara was “bombed” as opposition towards the coup continues to grow, reports Anadolu. Gunfire heard at Istanbul airport.
The pro-Gulen organization Alliance for Shared Values condemned the attempted coup.
2135 – Turkish state broadcaster TRT goes off air, but later starts broadcasting from London.
However, violence quickly broke out, with military helicopters controlled by the coup forces opening fire on a number of locations in Ankara before being shot down.
By Saturday morning, a top Turkish official said the coup attempt appeared to have been repelled. Says sieges are under way at some important buildings, without specifying, but urges people to remain calm.
People take to the street in support of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Antalya, Turkey.
In addition, the military group, which has flown jets over the capital city, says that the peace council will “reinstate constitutional order, human rights and freedoms”. The report said the soldiers had entered the tower and stopped all flights.
As the crisis unfolded, there were reports that access to popular social media sites like Twitter and Facebook had been blocked within the country.
The military statement went on to say that “all worldwide agreements and commitments will remain”.
Turkish President Recip Tayyip Erdogan has long accused Gulen of plotting to overthrow the officially secular government from a gated 26-acre compound in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains. “No coup-plotter in history has ever succeeded”, he said.
A military coup attempt sent Turkey into a chaotic tailspin late Friday, as the military declared martial law, and said that it had taken control of the country.
Major bridges, Bosphorus Bridge and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, in Istanbul were closed and gunfire was heard at Istanbul airport as soldiers took to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul. Helicopters seen overhead in Istanbul. The Dogan news agency reported that soldiers fired on a group of people trying to cross the Bosporus bridge to protest the attempted coup, and that some people have been hurt.
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Dogan News Agency footage showed cars and buses being diverted.
