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Turkish military chief rescued at Ankara air base

A group of insurgents staged a military attempt coup in Turkey on the night from July 15 to July 16.

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Earlier, Erdogan said he had no information about Akar, who was reportedly taken hostage at military headquarters by those behind the attempted coup.

According to a senior Turkish official, at least 60 people have died in the clashes.

An official claims 336 have been arrested in the aftermath. Arrests of officers were under way, and the “cleansing of the military” would go up the ranks, he said. Stability, democracy & safety of Turkish people are paramount.

Only a few days into his new role as Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson tweeted that he had spoken to his foreign counterpart to assure him of the UK’s support for Erdogan – who, his government says, is in a secure undisclosed location. He told them: “They have pointed the people’s guns against the people”.

“The government elected by the people remains in charge”.

“Turkish people’s courageous defense of democracy & their elected government proves that coups have no place in our region and are doomed to fail”, Zarif wrote on his tweeter.

The coup attempt began late Friday night. A part of the Turkish army attempted to stage a coup that was eventually thwarted.

According to Politico, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has now announced to the nation of Turkey that the attempt by some factions of the Turkish military failed and that the government has control once again of the country.

Dogan News reported that military vehicles blocked two major bridges over the Bosporus in Istanbul.

Quoting the FSS press office, Armenia’s Armenpress state-run news agency reports that “Russian border guards along with their Armenian colleagues are jointly carrying out the protection of Armenia’s borders with Turkey and Iran as well as perform the service at Armenia’s [international] Zvartnots airport”.

Earlier, about 30 pro-coup soldiers surrendered their weapons after being surrounded by armed police in Istanbul’s central Taksim square.

Military jets were heard flying over Ankara and Istanbul.

A helicopter used by soldiers backing the coup was shot down by a military jet over Ankara, broadcaster NTV reported. But the military did not appear unified, with top commanders taking to television to condemn the action and order troops back to their barracks.

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Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had called all legislators for an emergency meeting Saturday.

Not much disruption yet in the middle of the night local time