In public appearances since returning to Istanbul, Erdogan has blamed the attempted putsch on followers of Pennsylvania-based opposition figure Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish preacher with a large following.
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Almost 3,000 soldiers have been detained and some 2,700 judges were sacked on Saturday as the government sought to re-assert its power. Authorities arrested thousands of people amid gunfire that left dozens of people dead, and Erdogan vowed that those responsible “will pay a heavy price for their treason”.
Videos of soldiers, who participated in the coup, being attacked by crowds were circulated on social networks.
The government’s urging anyone in the country trying to leave to contact their travel agent and airline, and has consular officials at Turkish airports to help.
The Canadian government on Saturday advised Canadians against travelling to Turkey.
When it became clear the coup had been unsuccessful, Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said he commended the people of Turkey for defending their democracy and civilian rule.
Hundreds of soldiers were held in Ankara for alleged involvement in the coup, leaving police stations overflowing. “Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force”. It said the judicial personnel were accused of connections to the Gulen movement, a moderate school of Islam founded by self-exiled cleric Fethulah Gulen, who is accused of masterminding the coup.
In a separate statement, Kerry said the US viewed the “very fluid situation” in Turkey with the “gravest concern”. But Cavusoglu said there would be no problems regarding operations at the base.
Power was also cut to the base, where tactical nuclear weapons are stocked, and the United States forces there had to use internal power sources.
Reps for Facebook did not immediately respond to CNNMoney’s request for comment.
After strongly supporting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when it seemed his government might topple and then opening the door to sending home the cleric, a stung Obama administration fired back at its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally.
Erdogan, who had been holidaying on the southwest coast when the coup was launched, flew into Istanbul before dawn on Saturday and was shown on television outside Ataturk Airport.
In a statement, European Union diplomacy chief Federica Mogherini and neighbourhood commissioner Johannes Hahn also expressed their “full support to the democratic institutions of the country”.
– Just before midnight, a group calling itself the “Council for Peace in the Homeland” declares martial law and a curfew as troops deploy in the country’s two biggest cities.
“Today, our parliament will convene and we will discuss with other parties the additional measures or legal arrangements that should be put in place to prevent insane attempts of this kind in the future”, Yildirim said.
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Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all experienced interruptions or outages in Turkey on Friday night amid a military uprising in Istanbul.
