If successful, the overthrow of President Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey since 2003, would amount to one of the biggest shifts in power in the Middle East in years.
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North Atlantic Treaty Organisation chief Jens Stoltenberg hailed the “strong support shown by the people and all political parties to democracy and to the democratically elected government of Turkey”, a key North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally.
Addressing a crowd of thousands of flag-waving supporters at the airport later, Erdogan said the government remained at the helm, although disturbances continued in Ankara.
Fadi Hakura, a Turkey expert at the Chatham House think tank in London, said it was not clear who was behind the attempted coup, but it appeared to have been “carried out by lower-ranking officers – at the level of colonel”. Prime Minister Benali Yildirim said 161 people were killed and 1,440 wounded in the overnight violence.
Fethullah Gulen, the exiled cleric whom President Erdogan accused of plotting, denies any role in the coup.
Erdogan also said that “rogue elements” in the military involved in the coup would “pay a heavy price for their treason to Turkey” and “those who stain the military’s reputation must leave”.
“I would say that the atmosphere in Turkey today is one of unity and that has not been the case in a long time”, she says.
According to Yildirim, Turkey’s Constitution Council to consider introduction of death sentence after coup attempt.
The U.S. government has shown little inclination to depart Gulen, although U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told the Associated Press on Saturday the Obama administration would entertain an extradition request for Gulen if the Turkish government had solid proof of his involvement in the coup.
General Hulusi Akar, head of the armed forces, was taken hostage by the coup plotters but later freed. A coup against the democratically elected government could have made it hard for the United States to continue to cooperate with Turkey.
A total of 2,839 soldiers had been arrested, Yildirim said.
And Istanbul authorities sought to get life back to normal with the bridges reopening to traffic and Ataturk International Airport – shut down by the plotters – gradually reopening.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault also said his country “hopes that Turkish democracy will emerge strengthened from this test and that fundamental freedoms will be fully respected”.
A group within Turkey’s military has engaged in what appeared to be an attempted coup, the prime minister said, with military jets flying over the capital and reports of vehicles blocking two major bridges in Istanbul.
Meanwhile, Turkish television stations TRT and CNN Turk resumed broadcasting after being stormed by the military and briefly taken off the air.
At least 90 people, including 17 police officers were killed and over 1500 others were arrested after clashes broke out in the Turkish capital, NTV reported, citing the chief prosecutor’s office in the capital’s Golbasi district.
Gulen’s movement promotes a version of Islam that embraces science, education and interfaith dialogue, earning him millions of followers but also the suspicion of many in Turkey’s establishment.
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Gulen has rejected any responsibility and condemned the attempted coup.
