Although in the nature of the case numerous members of such anti-coup crowds were drawn from the ranks of partisans of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), others hailed from the student movement of 2013 that mobilized over preserving Gezi Park, and who had been repressed by the Istanbul police.
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By Saturday afternoon, CNN Turk reported that security forces had completed an operation against coup plotters at the headquarters of the military general staff. Security sources also said police detained about 100 military officers at an air base in the southeast.
Some 2839 Turkish Armed Forces officers have been arrested as of Saturday evening, less than 24 hours after an attempted coup d’etat in Turkey was thwarted, officials say.
Sinem Dogan, an Istanbul resident in her early thirties, recalls how the city reverberated to the sound of calls to prayer, as muezzins echoed president Erdogan’s request that his supporters take to the streets in defiance of the attempted coup.
The death toll from the unrest appeared to be around 265 people.
The Foreign Office said more than 2.5 million British nationals visit Turkey every year.
In a statement released by his foundation, the Alliance for Shared Values, Gulen condemned Friday’s coup attempt and rejected claims he was involved.
US President Barack Obama expressed support for Turkey’s government and urged parties on all sides of the crisis to avoid destabilising the country and follow the rule of law.
Despite Erdoğan’s many achievements throughout his years as a Turkish leader, beginning in 2002 when he was prime minister, he couldn’t manage to escape criticism.
Although he didn’t outline any threat, Erdogan’s emphasis on U.S.
Last night, there was an attempted military coup against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.
But the President’s former ally “categorically” denied any involvement in the plot, calling the accusation “insulting”.
President Barack Obama urged parties on all sides of the crisis in Turkey on Saturday to avoid destabilizing behavior and follow the rule of law, a day after a coup attempt against President Tayyip Erdogan rocked USA efforts to combat the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). Gulen lives in exile in Pennsylvania and promotes a philosophy that blends a mystical form of Islam with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue.
“We are delighted that the people of Turkey support a legitimate and elected government and did not allow the coup to prevail”, the statement continues.
Almost 3,000 soldiers have been detained and some 2,700 judges were sacked on Saturday as the government sought to re-assert its power.
“Abta estimates there are now 50,000 people on holiday with its members in Turkey”. By early Saturday, the putsch appeared to have fizzled.
Turks woke up on Saturday to television pictures showing dozens of soldiers surrendering after the failed coup, some with their hands above their head, others forced to the ground in the streets. Thousands gathered in major cities singing and waving Turkish flags while others held prayers in support of Erdogan and chanted “God is great”.
“Mostly they still remember the violence and bloodshed on the streets from the number of military interventions in the past”, Yural said. And no military or defense department civilians have left the country.
Now out of prison, Sik said the longstanding alliance between Turkey’s two most prominent Islamic leaders – Erdogan and Gulen – had collapsed into a bitter power struggle. Bombs were dropped on the parliament building and the presidential palace in Ankara.
Kerry said the US had no indication beforehand of the coup attempt, which began as he and Russia’s foreign minister were in a Russian government villa in Moscow, locked in negotiations over Syria.
The armed forces had taken power in the country to protect the democratic order and to maintain human rights, the military said in a statement sent by email and reported on Turkish TV channels.
Erdogan’s Islamist government has also been accused of playing an ambiguous – even double-sided – role in Syria.
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Erdogan’s critics have accused him of undermining modern Turkey’s secular roots and of sliding into authoritarianism-but the president was believed to have won control of the military after purging elements who opposed him.
