He appeared on CNN Turk via FaceTime and called on Turkish citizens to fill the streets in protest of what he called “an attempt at an uprising by a minority within our armed forces”.
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There are also reports of helicopters flying overhead in both Istanbul and Ankara, with gunshots reported.
A report the Associated Press tweeted less than an hour after Verdugo spoke with the Blade said that soldiers had opened fire on people who were trying to cross a bridge over the Bosporus. An official at Istanbul’s Sisli Hamidiye Etfal Training and Research Hospital said they had also received dead and wounded. Two other tanks and a military vehicle were stationed in front of the VIP terminal.
One senior Turkish government official said the military faction behind the coup had taken control of some tanks and ordered its forces to try and take over the streets.
Nothing in NATO’s founding 1949 Washington Treaty says anything about intervening in the internal or political affairs of an alliance member, and Turkey kept its NATO membership following past military coups.
It added: “We hope our good relations will continue with all countries in the world”. Some climbed on tanks, some blocked the path of military vehicles with their cars.
Earlier, military jets were heard flying over the capital, Ankara.
On Friday, there was a surprise military uprising in Turkey.
Shortly afterward, an anchor with the state television broadcaster read a statement purportedly from the Turkish military saying it had taken control of the country, citing concerns about the increasingly autocratic behavior of Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). He said that the government remained in charge.
Bridges across the Bosphorous in Istanbul are closed and airport operations have been disrupted, including at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport.
Mr Yildirim told NTV by telephone: “There was an illegal act by a group within the military that was acting out of the chain of military command”.
By Saturday morning, a top Turkish official said the coup attempt appeared to have been repelled.
It said: “Turkish Armed Forces have completely taken over the administration of the country to reinstate constitutional order, human rights and freedoms, the rule of law and general security that was damaged”. The wire service also reported that a military jet shot down a military helicopter over the city, possible police casualties, and a bomb that exploded at the Parliament building, according to state-run news agency Anadolu news.
“The power in the country has been seized in its entirety”, the statement said.
It hosts the U.S.-led global coalition fighting the Islamic State group, which conducts airstrikes against the extremists from Incirlik Airbase in the southern part of Turkey.
Turkish soldiers block Istanbul’s Bosphorus Bridge on Friday in Istanbul.
European air traffic control agency Eurocontrol said all flights arriving at Ataturk Airport were being diverted.
During the initial phases of the coup attempt, it was hard or impossible to access social media for many users except by using a “virtual private network” to bypass local internet providers, local residents and monitoring groups said.
Photos posted on social media show soldiers inside the headquarters.
“Those who are responsible, we will give them the necessary punishment”, Erdoğan said.
The U.S. Embassy in Turkey has urged American citizens to shelter in place.
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He told a CNN Turk reporter via cellphone that Turkish people must gather in public squares to show their response to the attempted military takeover, in comments broadcast live on television.
