The chaos caps a period of political turmoil in Turkey that critics blame on Mr Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule, which has included a government shake-up, a crackdown on dissidents and opposition media and renewed conflict in the mainly Kurdish areas of the south-east.
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A senior Turkish official says a total of 1,563 military personnel have been detained across Turkey. “I’m afraid that today it’s too early to speculate on the consequences as events continue to unfold the situation in Istanbul looks under control but in fact it’s still far from stabilisation”, he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Turkish Prime Minister Yildirim reportedly said that the Turkish military was involved in an attempted coup d’etat.
As the coup attempt unfolded, soldiers appeared at intersections, military jets were reportedly flying low over the capital, Ankara, and airspace around Istanbul’s main airports was closed, forcing global flights to divert.
Erdogan, who had been on vacation on the southwest coast when the coup was launched by a faction in the armed forces, flew into Istanbul before dawn and was shown on TV appearing among a crowd of supporters outside Ataturk Airport.
“We are focusing on the possibility of an attempt (coup)”, Yildirim said.
“We condemn any military intervention in domestic politics of Turkey”, the group said in a statement.
Another uprising attempt in Turkey could be staged at any time, Turkey’s presidency said on Twitter on Saturday, adding it was necessary to stay in charge of the streets.
“The Turkish population showed great maturity and courage by defending its institutions”, Foreign Minister Ayrault said in a statement.
Earlier, Turkey’s armed forces said it “fully seized control” of the country “to reinstall the constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms”, the AP reported.
Major infrastructures in the Turkish capital, Istanbul, were closed down including the city’s main airport and fighter jets were spotted in the skies.
Soldiers blocked entry to Ataturk Airport where four tanks were stationed, according to the private Dogan news agency.
Mr Gulen denied being behind the coup attempt and condemned it “in the strongest terms”.
Access was restricted in Turkey on Friday to Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc’s YouTube shortly after news that a military coup was under way, according to two internet monitoring groups. Images circulate on social media of cars and buses backed up on roads in the city and troops deployed on the Bosphorus Bridge and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge.
The huge military machine knocks down a nearby streetlight and forcing an oncoming vehicle to rapidly reverse as they try to make a speedy getaway.
There were reports of clashes in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, with reports of gunfire and explosions had been heard near the square.
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Fighting continued throughout the morning, with huge blasts echoing across the capital and Istanbul, including at least one bomb that hit the parliament complex. Sources however said that the group of 148 students and 38 officials in Trabzon taking part in World Schools Gymnasiade were safe. NTV reported six dead had been brought to that hospital. Emrah Gurel and Cinar Kiper also contributed from Istanbul. “I am coming to a square in Ankara”.
