“They will pay a heavy price for this act of treason”, Erdogan said at the airport.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media Saturday, July 16, 2016 in Istanbul, after a military coup against his government failed. He told them: “They have pointed the people’s guns against the people”.
“A minority within the armed forces has unfortunately been unable to stomach Turkey’s unity”, Erdogan said, adding that individuals loyal to Gulen had “penetrated the armed forces and the police, among other government agencies, over the past 40 years”.
The sound of F16 fighter jets screaming low over the capital Ankara signaled the start of the putsch late Friday, with troops also moving to block the two bridges across the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul.
As pictures emerged of soldiers involved in the coup surrendering, while being punched by civilian supporters of President Erdogan, a senior Turkish official said 1,563 military personnel were now in custody across the country – awaiting an increasingly uncertain fate.
Erdogan has been accused of undermining his country’s tradition of secular government.
Gulen denied being behind the coup attempt and condemned it “in the strongest terms”. “First thing to say obviously is we want to urge calm, the avoidance of any further bloodshed and it is crucial that we support the democratic institutions of Turkey”. CNN Turkey showed two military vehicles and a group of soldiers lined up at the entrance of one of the bridges in Turkey’s biggest city. Soldiers backed by tanks blocked entry to Istanbul’s airport for a couple of hours, before being overtaken by pro-government crowds carrying Turkish flags, according to footage broadcast by the Dogan news agency.
No named military officer claimed responsibility for the actions. The cleric lives in exile in Pennsylvania and promotes a philosophy that blends a mystical form of Islam with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue. However, reports of sporadic explosions and gunfire are coming in from Istanbul, where Erdogan assured his supporters that the government was now under control of the situation. Ten members of Turkey’s highest administrative court were detained and arrest warrants were issued for 48 administrative court members and 140 members of Turkey’s appeals court, state media reported. While Turkey demanded their extradition, Greece said it would hand back the helicopter and consider the men’s asylum requests. American jets use its Incirlik air base to fly missions against the extremists in Syria and Iraq.
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Turkey plays a key role in the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group. A nearby mosque made an anti-coup announcement over its loudspeakers. “If you can. You will not have the means to turn this country into a mess from where you are”, Erdogan said.
