Live: Turkey coup – The coup is OVER

Live: Turkey coup - The coup unfolds
  • Coup attempt by Turkish military against Erdogan
  • PM Yildirim: Nothing will harm Turkish democracy
  • All flights in and out of Turkey suspended
  • Low flying jets and gunfire heard in Turkish capital
  • Both of Istanbul’s bridges across the Bosphorus closed
  • All airports in Turkey closed 
  • Coup says they took control of the power
  • Coup says that Turkey now under control of a ‘peace council’
  • Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged people to take to the streets
  • Erdogan says that the Democracy will not fall in the country
  • Erdogan: we will overcome this
  • Protesters took to the streets
  • Military coup opened fire on the protesters.
  • Turkish military leaders say that they are against the coup
  • US said that they support the government 
  • Bomb hits Turkish parliament
  • TRT has resumed broadcasting 
  • Turkish official: coup has been ‘repelled’  
  • Erdogan’s plane ‘returns to Istanbul

Situation getting better every minute

President Erdogan: Uprising was treason

Turkish’s elected president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has just spoken on live TV in Turkey (earlier, he delivered remarks via the highly unorthodox format of a FaceTime broadcast on a mobile phone shown to a CNN Turkey TV camera).

Erdoğan said the uprising was an act of “treason” and that those responsible will pay a “heavy price”, according to Reuters.

The president also said the prime minister has given orders to “eradicate” those who are shooting from the air.

He further said the uprising was carried out by a “minority” within the military who can’t stomach unity of the country. Erdoğan said some in military have been taking orders from cleric Fethullah Gulen and that the attempted coup shows the Gulen structure is an armed terrorist organization. Gulen has denied involvement.

According to Reuters’ translation, the president said he would not hand Turkey over to occupiers and said the cabinet is functioning in Ankara. Erdoğan further said he will stay “with my people”.

 

Explosions heard by Taksim Square – reports

There are reports of sounds of explosions in or near Taksim Square, where crowds have been gathering in the heart of Istanbul throughout the night.

It’s unclear if the blast sounds are explosions, sonic booms from fighter jets, or both.

The AP reports two large explosions near the square where, the agency states, police and military have been exchanging fire.

Shortly before, Reuters reported that around 30 Turkish soldiers who were part of a faction attempting to carry out the military coup surrendered their weapons after being surrounded by armed police.

The soldiers handed over their guns and were taken away in police vans as a fighter jet repeatedly screeched overhead at low altitude, causing a boom that shook surrounding buildings and shattered windows, Reuters reported.

President Erdogan’s plane ‘returns to Istanbul’ as claims coup appears to have

Turkish officials say President Erdogan’s plane is returning to Istanbul, while claiming the coup appears to have failed.

An official said all government heads were in charge of their offices.

Turkish official: coup has been ‘repelled’

Istanbul crowd applauds announcement ‘coup is over’

Crowds Istanbul’s Taksim Square have reportedly applauded a statement claiming the coup is over.

A witness , who has been tweeting the events, wrote: “The police just issued at statement at Taksim square saying that the military coup personnel have been stopped.

“Most applauded.”

Al-Jazeera reported from military sources in Turkey that the situation is under control in Istanbul.

The last group of military coup members in Taksim square surrendered themselves to the police.

Turkish state broadcaster TRT has resumed broadcasting

Turkish state broadcaster TRT has resumed broadcasting.

It went off air during what officials said was an attempted coup by a faction within the military.

Staff described being taken hostage by the plotters.

Flights from airport hoping to resume

Staff at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport hope to resume international departures soon, European air traffic control agency Eurocontrol said tonight.

All arriving flights are being diverted until then because there is no room for any more aircraft at the congested airport following the suspension of departures earlier.

A bulletin to airlines said: “Ataturk hope to re-commence international departures shortly but until they do all inbound flights to Ataturk are being diverted, although the situation is unclear.”

situation largely under control

The situation in Turkey is largely under control, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.

HE adding that an attempted coup against the government was an act of rebellion by followers of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Yildirim also told broadcaster NTV that a no-fly zone had been declared over the capital, Ankara.

 A group of soldiers, members of "Parallel State/Gulenist Terrorist Organization", are being taken under custody as they try to storm into Turkish Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on July 16, 2016.
A group of soldiers, members of “Parallel State/Gulenist Terrorist Organization”, are being taken under custody as they try to storm into Turkish Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on July 16, 2016.

‘Bomb hits Turkish parliament in Ankara’

There are unconfirmed reports a bomb has hit the Turkish parliament in Ankara.

That’s according to the state-run Andalou Agency, while Reuters has now reported a large blast taking place in Istanbul.

Clashes in Ankara

A Turkish F-16 fighter jet has reportedly shot down a military helicopter used by the pro-coup faction of the Turkish army, local broadcaster NTV reported, as reports suggested the capital of Ankara descended into chaotic clashes involving civilians and military.

17 police officers killed in helicopter attack on special forces’ HQ in Ankara

Davutoglu : an attack against democracy

Former prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu has told al-Jazeera in an interview that the attempted coup is utilizing “illegal methods” and constitutes an “an attack against democracy”.

From the New York Times, Davutoğlu said:

Stability of Turkey means stability of many other countries, and the stability of Turkey means the stability of a safe haven of millions of refugees. If it is harmed, the domino effect cannot be prevented.

Davutoğlu repeatedly suggested that the coup was being led merely by a “clique” in the military and said he expected the coup to fail.

“Throughout my life we have seen many attempts by these types of cliques in the army,” he said. “They were not able to succeed for a long time and, after so many years, I am sure we will protect our dignity, our democracy.”

Live: Turkey coup - The coup unfolds

 

Israel tells citizens to stay put as coup unfolds in Turkey

Israel’s Foreign Ministry urged its citizens in Turkey to remain indoors, and advised against travel to Turkey following an attempted coup on Friday.

US President Barack Obama has been briefed by aides on events in Turkey, the White House said Friday, as a shock military coup attempt was underway. Moscow, meanwhile, urged Turkey to avoid “bloodshed.”

“The president’s national security team has apprised him of the unfolding situation in Turkey,” said National Security Council spokesman Ned Price.

“The president will continue to receive regular updates.”

Protesters took control of Ataturk airport

Reports said that protesters took control of Ataturk airport.

The Turkish special forces engaged in clashes with the military coup paticipants, one killed and several injured until now but the situation is good.

The leader of the marine forces said that his forces reject the coup and will stand with the government.

Until now explosions are heard all over Ankara.

Political parties stood with the government eventhe opposition and said they will not accept the coup.

Leader of the division of Turksih army said that the coup forces are small part of his division and that the army stands against the coup

Tanks open fire

Tanks have opened fire near the Turkish parliament building, Reuters reports, following similar reports from NTV and local journalists about gunfire in Ankara and Istanbul.

Protesters have heard Erdogan’s call to take to the streets, though, and some are chanting “shoulder to shoulder against the coup”. Others have squared off with military forces who’ve closed bridges and streets. In one video, a policeman and military officer argue in a crowd in the street; in another, cars jammed in traffic honked horns in unison as people mill among them. In a third, a crowd sings and lifts up a huge Turkish flag.

Photos posted on social media shows protesters climbing onto a tank and challenging the military, and live video, streaming on Facebook, showed throngs of people in the streets around the country.

 

Protestors took the squares

Huge amounts of people took to the main squares around Turkey rejecting the coup. Live photos were published from AK party main HQ in Ankara.

Protestors attacked with bullets

Military coup members opened fire on protestors on Istanbul bridge and Ataturk airport.

Gunshots are being heard in the capital Ankara as military planes flew low overhead.

The state run Anadolu agency has said that military helicopters have fired on the intelligence HQ in Ankara.

Huge explosions ae hears in Ankara.

Military go home

Protestors in Istanbul surrounded the army veicles asking them to go home

Parliament is surrounded

The Turkish parliament building is surrounded by tanks.

‘Everyone is on edge. No one knows whether to trust the police and whose side they are on’

Witness said

Once we heard the military were taking over we thought we’d better get back to the hostel.

The streets were crazy, all the cars were going at about 100 miles per hour. It is so chaotic.

Everyone is on edge. No one knows whether to trust the police and whose side they are on. I’ve been told to stay away from government buildings.

Everyone was running and shouting, trying to hitchhike because everything had stopped, there was no public transport.

We hit hiked for about three miles – there were 12 of us crammed in the back of a car.

When we were on the way back, some boys said ‘stop there’s tear gas’. We decided to continue as it was the only way to get back to the hostel but I could smell something acidic in the air.

More on Erdogan statement to CNN

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged people to take to the streets to protest against what he described as a coup attempt by a minority faction within the military, vowing that it would meet with a “necessary response”, Reuters reports

He told a CNN Turk reporter via cellphone that Turkish people must gather in public squares to show their response to the attempted military takeover, in comments broadcast live on television.

Erdogan said he believed the attempted coup would be over within a “short time” and said those responsible would pay a heavy price in the courts.

He said the act was encourage by the “parallel structure” – his shorthand for followers of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Muslim cleric who he has repeatedly accused of attempting to foment an uprising among his followers in the judiciary and the military.

“I certainly believe that coup plotters will not succeed,” he said, speaking on FaceTime via mobile phone in his first reaction to the move by the Turkish armed forces.

“I urge the Turkish people to convene at public squares and airports. I never believed in a power higher than the power of the people.”

Celebratory gunfire in Damascus after report of coup in Turkey

Celebratory gunfire was heard in Damascus early on Saturday after Turkey’s army said it had seized power from President Tayyip Erdogan, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s main regional opponents.

Witnesses said people also took to the streets in the Syrian capital and in the government-held section of the northern city of Aleppo.

Internet access blocked

Access was restricted in Turkey on Friday to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube shortly after news broke that the military coup was under way, according to two internet monitoring groups.

Reuters reported that Turkey Blocks, a group that monitors internet shutdowns in the country, and Dyn, which monitors internet performance and traffic globally, both said it was difficult or impossible to access social media services in Turkey.

TRT gone off

‘We will not tolerate attempts to undermine our democracy’

Presidential statement:

Turkey’s democratically elected president and government are in power. We will not tolerate attempts to undermine our democracy.

The illegal statement is being made by the Council for Peace in the Homeland — not the Turkish Armed Forces.

The President is in a secure location as per government protocol. A statement will be made shortly.

The President is Turkey’s commander in chief. The Turkish people, regardless of their political affiliation, will stand against this blatant attack against our democracy.

We welcome the commitment of opposition parties, which expressed their objections to the coup attempt, to democracy.

Erdogan apears online

Coup statement

More details from the statement read out on the state broadcaster TRT at the behest of the military faction that seems to be behind the coup: It says that the freedom of Turkish citizens is guaranteed by what is referred to as a “peace council”, regardless of religion, race or language.

It says the Peace Council will not allow public order to be damaged.

The Dogan agency quoted the military on Friday as saying, that it wants “to reinstall the constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms, to ensure that the rule of law once again reigns in the country, for the law and order to be reinstated.”

The military statement went on to say that “all international agreements and commitments will remain. We pledge that good relations with all world countries will continue.”

Photos from the situation on ground

 

Turkish military broadcasts on state TV amid coup reports

All airports closed

State TV channel TRT reports that all airports in Turkey.

Soldiers ‘inside buildings of state broadcaster’

Erdogan ‘safe’

A source from the presidential office has told Reuters that Erdogan is “safe”.

All flights from Istanbul’s Ataturk airport reportedly cancelled

All flights from Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport have been cancelled, a Reuters witness said on Friday, citing a pilot, after the military said it had taken control of the government.

Turkey’s top general ‘held hostage’

Reports on Turkish state news agency that the country’s top general ‘held hostage’ at military HQ.

“General Hulusi Akar has been taken hostage by a group in the military who attempted an uprising,” the agency said citing “credible sources”.

The coup seized power

In a statement, the Turkish military says the rule of law must remain the priority.

“The power in the country has been seized in its entirety,” said the military statement read on NTV television, without giving further details. The military’s website was not immediately accessible.

State TV TRT reportedly off the air. Turkey coup

Reports on Turkish state news agency that the country’s top general ‘held hostage’ at military HQ.

Reports said also that the coup participants forces control on the HQ of the governing party.

Tanks were seen at Istanbul airport. Military tanks are outside Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport tonight. It is not known yet who is responsible for this incident, the government or the coup participants.

The Bosphorus and Fatih bridges were closed by the gendarmerie – a branch of the Turkish military dedicated to internal security – for traffic traveling from Asia to Europe, NTV television said. Traffic was still moving in the other direction. Turkey coup

Meanwhile, Turkish military aircraft were heard flying low over Ankara, AFP correspondents in the capital also reported. There was no immediate explanation for the cause of the incidents.

Gunshots were heard in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Friday, a Reuters witness said, as military jets and helicopters were seen flying overhead.