Turkey’s military said on Friday it had seized power, but the prime minister said the attempted coup would be put down.
If
successful, the overthrow of President Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled
Turkey since 2003, would amount to one of the biggest shifts in power in
the Middle East in years.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said
the elected government remained in office. There was no immediate word
from Erdogan. The Turkish sister channel of CNN said he was “safe”.
The armed forces had taken power in the country to protect
the democratic order and to maintain human rights, the military said in
a statement sent by email and reported on Turkish TV channels. All of
Turkey’s existing foreign relations would be maintained and the rule of
law would remain the priority, it said.
Bosphorus bridge, which links the city’s European and Asian sides, is pictured in Istanbul, Turkey (Credit: Reuters)
The
state-run Anadolu news agency said the chief of Turkey’s military staff
was among people taken “hostage” in the capital Ankara. CNN Turk also
reported that hostages were being held at the military headquarters.
Turkey, a NATO 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.
It is a principal
backer of opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in that
country’s civil war, and host to 2 million Syrian refugees.
The
country has been at war with Kurdish separatists, and has suffered
numerous bombing and shooting attacks this year, including an attack two
weeks ago by Islamists at Istanbul’s main airport that killed more than
40 people.
A
Turkish official who did not want to be named said soldiers had been
deployed in other cities in Turkey, but did not specify which ones.
After
serving as prime minister from 2003, Erdogan was elected president in
2014 with plans to alter the constitution to give the previously
ceremonial presidency far greater executive powers.
His AK Party,
with roots in Islamism, has long had a strained relationship with the
military and nationalists in a state that was founded on secularist
principles after World War One, and which has a history of military
coups.
Yildirim said a group within Turkey’s military had
attempted to overthrow the government and security forces have been
called in to “do what is necessary”.
“Some people illegally
undertook an illegal action outside of the chain of command,” Yildirim
said in comments broadcast by private channel NTV.
Turkish military block access to the Bosphorus bridge (Credit: Reuters)
“The government elected by the people remains in charge. This government will only go when the people say so.”
Those behind the attempted coup would pay the highest price, he added.
Footage
on local television channels showed military vehicles blocking bridges
over the Bosphorus in Istanbul and tanks deployed at the city’s main
airport. In the capital Ankara, warplanes and helicopters roared
overhead. A Reuters journalist heard gunshots.
Dogan News Agency reported the national police directorate had summoned all police to duty in Ankara.
This is not Turkeys first attempted coup, in May 1960, a group of
officers overthrew the country’s government, ousted the democratic party
and appointed retired General Cemel Gursel president.
