Attack Helicopter Shooting at Civilians in Turkey Coup
A military coup has been attempted in Turkey, pitching one of the Middle East’s key hubs of power into sudden turmoil and prompting supporters of the country’s elected president to take to the streets.
In a statement released through Turkish television channels on Friday night, people claiming to speak for the military said the army was in charge of the country, accusing the government of the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, of eroding Turkey’s secular traditions.
But as soldiers and tanks moved into key positions around Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, people poured into the streets. A night of confrontations, loud blasts and gunfire ensued across the capital, with at least 17 reportedly killed and scores wounded while fighter jets and helicopters buzzed overhead.
Early on Saturday morning Erdoğan’s plane landed in Istanbul, with the president clearly determined to assert that the coup had been repelled and he remained in charge.
In a live TV address after his arrival at Istanbul Ataturk airport, where he was welcomed by crowds, Erdoğan said the uprising was an act of “treason” and that those responsible would pay a “heavy price”.
“Those who stain the military’s reputation must leave. The process has started today and it will continue just as we fight other terrorist groups,” said a translation of his remarks.
The Turkish prime minister, Binali Yildirim, said in the early hours of Saturday morning that those involved in the coup were being rounded up and more than 120 arrests had been made.
On Friday night gunfire erupted outside military headquarters and vehicles blocked two major bridges in Istanbul. Soldiers and tanks at one point blocked entry to Istanbul’s main Ataturk airport and stopped flights, according to the private Dogan news agency.
But the military did not appear unified, with top commanders taking to television to condemn the action and order troops back to their barracks.