Turkey Quashes Coup; Erdogan Vows ‘Heavy Price’ For Plotters

Yildirim, speaking outside his Cankaya palace in Ankara and flanked by top general Hulusi Akar who was held during the coup attempt, also described the putsch bid as a “black stain” on Turkish democracy.

Death toll has risen to 161, with 1,440 wounded, according to Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in Ankara on Saturday.

Crowds of flag-waving supporters of Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) appeared to have turned the tide, defying orders of a curfew and marching out onto the streets to block the attempt to overthrow the regime.

And Erdogan used his Twitter feed to urge people onto the streets to ensure no further challenges to his power.

A total of 2,839 soldiers had been arrested, Yildirim said. By the early hours of Saturday morning, lawmakers were still hiding in shelters inside the parliament building in Ankara, which had been fired on by tanks.

Chaos prevailed on Friday night amid reports that soldiers were trying to take control of bridges and key areas in major cities.

This was followed by armed clashes between pro-government police officers and armed forces and the rebel soldiers.

What sounds like gunfire can also be heard in live footage from Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport.

“Turks are on fire”, Fethi Karabas, a 27-year-old tour guide in Taksim Square, told AFP. Erdogan has also been a polarizing leader, though he commands deep support among a pious Muslim class that once felt marginalized under past military-influenced governments.

“It is obvious (the) Turkish people stand behind their democracy and democratically elected representatives”.

As on previous occasions, coup plotters took over state television and radio, taking them off the air.

“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”. Authorities arrested thousands of people as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed those responsible “will pay a heavy price for their treason to Turkey”.

It added: “We hope our good relations will continue with all countries in the world”.

Coups are often launched by the military in a country, and that’s what happened in Turkey.

It has staged three coups since 1960 and forced out an Islamic government in 1997.

Erdogan has long accused Gulen of plotting to overthrow the officially secular government from a gated 26-acre compound in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.

The Gulenist movement denied involvement, however, and amid the confusion, it was impossible to confirm who was behind the attempt to topple the government.

“In the light of the force majeure situation tour operators are required to avoid registering and sending tourists to Turkish destinations until peace and security are restored”, Iran’s tourism organisation said. It has been facing terror attacks continuously over recent years but being dragged into a civil war is another level of threat; one which the government needs to take extremely seriously.

A Blackhawk military helicopter with seven Turkish military personnel and one civilian landed in the Greek city of Alexandroupolis, where the passengers requested asylum.

Kerry said he had stressed in a telephone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu the United States’ “absolute support” for Turkey’s democratically elected, civilian government and democratic institutions.

The attempted coup brought new instability to the Middle East region, with Turkey a key powerbroker in the ongoing Syria conflict.