As dawn broke in Istanbul on Saturday, Turkey’s largest city, it was still unclear whether an attempt by the military to wrest control from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been successful.
A defiant Erdogan addressed crowds in the city, telling them that the coup had been quashed. “The government is in control,” he told supporters.
Overnight, opposition soldiers had attempted to seize control in a number of locations across the country, including the capital Ankara.
Turkish media reported that 42 people — the majority of whom were police officers — were killed in Ankara in a gunfire exchange with a helicopter near the parliament complex. The report, from TV station NTV, cited the attorney general’s office.
Erdogan, who had traveled overnight from the seaside resort of Marmaris addressed the country Saturday from Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, calling the attempt “treason.”
While senior government voices were insisting the coup attempt was under control, the situation remains confusing. Reports from witnesses and posted on social media indicate conflict was ongoing.
Witness Katherine Cohen, an American who’s staying in an Istanbul hotel, told CNN she heard a loud explosion as the sun rose, and gunfire and jets all through the night.
Erdogan addressed Fethullah Gulen, a cleric and former ally who is now who lives in exile in Pennsylvania, who he accused of masterminding the coup.
“Now I’m addressing those in Pennsylvania,” he said.
“The betrayal you have shown to this nation and to this community, that’s enough. If you have the courage, come back to your country.
If you can. You will not have the means to turn this country into a mess from where you are.”The Gulen group denied all involvement.
Violence overnight
In Ankara, gunfire was heard overnight throughout the city and jets circled above.
“When I stuck my head out, I could see helicopters shooting,” Diego Cupolo, a photojournalist in Ankara told CNN.
He said he could see tracer rounds zip through the air.
Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, however, told CNN by phone that the military coup has failed.
“The government is in full control,” he said. “Already many of the soldiers involved in Ankara have been arrested.”
For much of the night, fighter jets flew low over Istanbul while armored vehicles streamed across a main bridge in the city. Gunshots rang out on that Bosphorus Bridge, sending pro-government protesters down to the ground.
Bombs were thrown at the Parliament building in the capital Ankara. A helicopter the government says was stolen by coup plotters was shot down by an F-16.
And Erdogan was forced to resort to FaceTime on his phone for a TV interview. He urged supporters to go to the streets and stop those who would have him overthrown. They responded by flooding into the squares in Ankara and Istanbul.
Later, Erdogan flew to Istanbul, where he said military factions involved in the coup would be dealt with in the same way the nation treats terrorists.
The United States, United Kingdom and other nations are watching the crisis intently to see what will happen in Turkey — a member of the NATO Western military alliance, and home to air bases used in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and neighboring Syria.
Chaos in the streets
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the street after Erodgan’s call to confront the military was broadcast on television. Many waved Turkish flags and they chanted their support for the President. Some climbed on tanks, some blocked the path of military vehicles with their cars. But some soldiers got hugs from apparent supporters.
The military claimed to have seized power from the government, but the government’s National Intelligence Unit said the coup had failed.
Video from the country continues to show confrontations between military forces and street demonstrators. Rinuh Yilmaz, press officer to the National Intelligence Organization, told CNN Turk that “the coup is defeated.”
TV station briefly forced off air.There was no independent confirmation.
But after that claim, soldiers entered the CNN Turk building in the Dogan Media Center in Istanbul, according to the anchor who was on air.
“We don’t know how much longer we can continue our broadcast, about five or 10 minutes ago they entered,” the CNN Turk anchor said. Minutes later, the camera showed an empty studio. The network resumed broadcasting about 45 minutes later.
A witness in Istanbul told CNN there were several loud explosions about 3:45 a.m., causing buildings to shake. “It sounds like bombings you hear in Syria.”
The witness, who was close to Taksim Square and the CNN Turk studios, said the sound of helicopters and jet aircraft flying overhead preceded the explosions.
A fighter jet shot down a helicopter that had been commandeered by “coup plotters,” a Turkish presidential source told CNN. There were reports of gunfire, according to Turkish broadcaster IHA and the U.S. Embassy in Ankara.
(CNN)
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