“They will pay a heavy price for this act of treason”, Erdogan said at the airport.
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A total of 1,563 military personnel have been detained across Turkey following an attempted coup, a senior Turkish official said. And no military or defense department civilians have left the country. “The process has started today and it will continue just as we fight other terrorist groups”.
Prime Minister Binanli Yildirim called the uprising “an attempt against democracy and the will of the people”. Key bridges across the Bosphorous in Istanbul were in their control, parliament in Ankara was being surrounded, soldiers lined the streets in tanks and helicopters hovered above key installations. Gen. Umit Dundar said the plotters were mainly officers from the Air Force, the military police and the armored units.
The coup attempt was suppressed by early Saturday, with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim stating that all coup supporters were identified and would be apprehended as the country was returning to normal life.
“The last thing we wanted was further uncertainty and turbulence in Turkey given the centrality of Turkey in North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, given its very powerful military, given the role that it is playing, given the two million refugees on it’s land”. While Twitter said they suspected “an intentional slowing” of their traffic in the country, a YouTube spokesperson told the Guardian that they are “aware of reports that YouTube is down in Turkey, however, systems seem to be functioning normally”.
Friday’s putsch bid began with rebel F-16 jets screaming low over rooftops in Ankara, soldiers and tanks taking to the streets and multiple explosions throughout the night in the capital as well as the biggest city Istanbul.
It was also reported that soldiers who had taken over the Chief of General Staff Headquarters during the coup requested negotiations to surrender. Gunfire and explosions rang out.
By Saturday morning, the mood had changed as pro-democracy activists in Egypt took to social media networks to post jubilant comments about the failure of the coup and publish photos of army officers and soldiers captured by civilians. Video footage showed the bridge being blocked by military vehicles. Some flights have also been cancelled. A nearby mosque made an anti-coup announcement over its loudspeakers. He flew home early Saturday and declared the coup to have failed.
As protesters poured onto the streets, an AFP photographer saw troops open fire on people gathered near one of the bridges, leaving dozens wounded.
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As the dust settled on a dramatic and chaotic night, TV pictures Saturday showed extensive damage to the parliament building in Ankara that was bombed by rebel jets. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also said he spoke to Cavusoglu and called for respect for democracy. “In the face of deaths, murders, if necessary the death penalty should be brought back to the table [for discussion]”, he said in a 2012 speech after an upsurge in Kurdish militant violence, Reuters reported. The Hurriyet newspaper, quoting investigators, said some privates had thought they were on military maneuvers, not a coup attempt. “I was forced by men with arms and they told us that they would not harm us if we did as told”. “We fully anticipate that there will be questions raised about Mr Gulen, and obviously we invite the government of Turkey … to present us with any legitimate evidence that withstands scrutiny and the United States will accept that and look at it and make judgments appropriately and I am confident there will be some discussion about that”.
