The U.S. came out early in favor of the Turkish government, led by its democratically elected president, Erdogan.
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“My message to my brother Erdogan is that he has strong support here, amongst us in Bosnia”.
They said the move was to ensure that all the Turkish air force was under their control.
Gulen denied playing any role in the attempted coup, which he condemned.
“This country was wracked with coups”, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the country’s main opposition party, said in a TV appearance, referencing Turkey’s long history of military takeovers – it has weathered three coups in last three decades.
Erdogan’s extradition request is expected to further heighten tensions between Anraka and Washington, as the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies have always been in dispute over the treatment of Kurds in Syria.
Fighting continued into the early morning, with the sounds of huge blasts echoing across Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, including at least one bomb that hit the parliament complex.
President Barack Obama urged all sides in Turkey to support the democratically elected government in Turkey, a key North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally. He gained notice in Turkey some 50 years ago, promoting a philosophy that blended a mystical form of Islam with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue.
A faction of the Turkish military launched an ill-fated coup late on Friday night, by using tanks and attack helicopters in an attempt to seize power from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim.
In a statement, the Turkish Cultural Center of Rochester also said it condemned the military coup attempt. MORE said that the US had not yet received an extradition request but would consider sending Gulen back, the Associated Press reported. “I pray to God for Turkey, for Turkish citizens, and for all those now in Turkey that this situation is resolved peacefully and quickly”.
On Saturday, amid the coup’s aftermath, Kalyoncuoğlu described protesters at police stations demanding arrests of officers, but said the city was otherwise free of conflict.
But Cavusoglu said there would be no problems regarding operations at the base. Bombs were dropped on the parliament building and the presidential palace in Ankara. But a new crisis appears to be taking hold.
In the wake of the attempted coup, then, a key question for Turkey will be the fate of those same tools of democracy that helped to defeat it.
After serving as prime minister from 2003, Erdogan was elected president in 2014 with plans to alter the constitution to give the previously ceremonial presidency far greater executive powers.
“Many people feel it must be a scheme so that Erdogan can strengthen his power and gain more support through fear, ” said one Turkish teacher who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals. The belief now is that the government, and particularly Mr Erdogan, will deal more harshly than ever before with its critics.
Kerry said the U.S. would provide assistance in the investigation, but warned that any suggestions that the U.S. was somehow involved would be detrimental to U.S. -Turkey relations.
Kerry said the coup attempt had come as a surprise to all, and added: “I must say, it does not appear to have been a very brilliantly planned or executed event”.
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Local journalists – who increasingly work in a climate of crackdowns that sees journalists intimidated and arrested – fought back against attempts to seize their outlets and rushed to present a clear picture of the news. “But on the other hand, you watch what Erdogan has done, and he’s essentially staged his own coup”.
