Bomb attacks, air strikes and gunfire were seen in Ankara and Istanbul last night, leaving more than 60 people dead and many more wounded and injured.
Advertisement
Five generals and 29 colonels were dismissed, NTV reported.
Mr Erdogan has accused the reclusive Islamic preacher, who lives in a tiny town in the Pocono Mountains of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, of being behind the coup.
Aerial bombings, military blockades and clashes between mobs and armed forces were reported across Turkey overnight.
General Zekai Aksakalli, the commander of the military special forces, told Turkey’s NTV: “Those who are attempting a coup will not succeed”. He earlier ordered those aircraft shot down. He called a parliament session for Saturday afternoon.
Dogan News Agency footage showed cars and buses being diverted.
In a telephone call to CNN, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that he remained leader of the country and the head of its army. “There is a small distress in Ankara”, Erdogan told a large crowd gathered at the airport. “The people have shown that they stand in solidarity with democracy and the elected government”. Turkey’s armed forces said it “fully seized control” of the country F.
Soldiers on a bridge that links Istanbul’s Asian and European parts over the Bosphorus Strait have surrendered to the police, Turkish media reported. “Those who are responsible, we will give them the necessary punishment”, Erdogan said, calling on his supporters to demonstrate in the streets. Turkey also supports the moderate opposition looking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Arriving in Istanbul hours later, the Turkish president said he would not leave Ataturk Airport until the situation in the country returns to normal.
Erdogan has blamed US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen of being the mastermind behind the attempted coup.
“Government should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force”.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement late Friday expressing concern about the uprising by members of Turkey’s military.
Soldiers blocked entry to Ataturk Airport where four tanks were stationed, according to the private Dogan news agency. “This government, brought to power by the people, is in charge”, Erdogan said. “Call for restraint and respect for democratic institutions #Turkey”, she tweeted from a regional summit in Ulan Bator.
Advertisement
All of Turkey’s border crossings have been closed, a statement issued on the ministry’s website says.
