Turkey’s renewed offensive against Kurdish militants – who seek more autonomy and are implacable foes of IS – has complicated the USA -led fight against the Islamic State group. If it fails, the coup attempt could still destabilize a pivotal country in the region.
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– Erdogan flies back to Istanbul’s Ataturk airport where a large crowd awaits, and declares that the coup plotters are guilty of “treason” and will pay a “very heavy price”. A source at the office of the presidency, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government rules, said the toll of 161 “excludes assailants” – which could mean the death toll is much higher. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he spoke to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and called for respect for democracy.
During the fighting, 17 police officers were been killed in a helicopter attack on police special forces headquarters on the outskirts of Ankara, Anadolu said. Gone were the soldiers who had appeared in the square the night before. People, some holding flags, climbed onto the tanks.
The coup attempt was reportedly suppressed by early Saturday, with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim stating that all coup supporters have been detained and the country is returning to normal life.
Yildirim took aim at the United States for hosting what he called “the leader of a terrorist organization”. Greece said it was considering Turkey’s request for their extradition. In Taksim Square, a tiny group of pro-government demonstrators rallied as police looked on.
He told state news agency Anadolu the uprising is “an attempt against democracy and the will of the people”.
One of the helicopters being flown by rebels was shot down in Ankara. He said Marmaris had been bombed after he left. Smoke rose up from nearby, Reuters witnesses said.
Soldiers took control of TRT state television, which announced a countrywide curfew and martial law. In 1997, many Turks welcomed the military’s intervention to undermine Turkey’s first experiment with Islamist-led government.
– Early Saturday, small groups of rebel soldiers begin to surrender to security forces on the Bosphorus bridge where the rebels had earlier fired at civilians.
Hasanguliyev noted that it is expected that mass arrests will take place and democratic institutions will freeze their activities in Turkey for a while. They’ve got control of the airports and are expecting control over the TV station imminently.
“They have pointed the people’s guns against the people”.
One European diplomat was dining with the Turkish ambassador to a European capital when guests were interrupted by the pinging of urgent news on their mobile phones.
It is not yet known who was behind the coup. “This has not come out of nowhere”.
Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member with the second biggest military in the Western alliance, is one of the most important allies of the United States in the fight against Islamic State, which seized swathes of neighboring Iraq and Syria.
Turkey plays a key role in US -led efforts against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq. Yet as Turkey has become a more complex society and the AKP has sought to integrate the country globally, the conformity of Kemalism no longer works. People took the streets to celebrate there and in other government-held cities.
Government officials blamed the coup attempt on a US -based moderate Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gulen.
“As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt”, Gulen said in a statement.
The West sees Turkey as part of the solution in the Middle East. The military has a history of mounting coups to defend secularism, but has not seized power directly since 1980.
Those who support Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan massed outside of Gulen’s compound in protest Saturday.
“Some people illegally undertook an illegal action outside of the chain of command”, Yildirim said in comments broadcast by private channel NTV.
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Erdogan used Twitter to urge people onto the streets to ensure no further challenges to his power. “This government will only go when the people say so”.
