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Turkey prime minister says coup attempt foiled. Turkey's Erdogan appears in Istanbul after coup bid





Turkey prime minister says coup attempt foiled

Turkish prime minister says military chief of staff back in charge after army faction said it taken control in a coup.

Source: Al Jazeera

A coup attempt by an army faction in Turkey has been put down, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, after thousands of people heeded a call from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and took to the streets.

Yildirim also told broadcaster NTV that a no-fly zone had been declared over the capital, Ankara, blaming followers of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.

"The coup attempt is foiled," Turkey's national intelligence agency had earlier said in a statement.

Sections of the Turkish army had earlier officially declared a coup and martial law, saying they had "taken control of the country" as Istanbul's main airport was closed and fighter jets were seen in the skies.

Erdogan in a phone call to broadcaster CNN Turk on Friday said he remained the president of the country and the head of the army and called for people to take to the streets against the coup.

"We will overcome this," Erdogan said, speaking on a video call to a mobile phone held up to the camera by a presenter. He called on his followers to take to the streets to defend his government and said the coup plotters would pay a heavy price.

An official said Erdogan was speaking from Marmaris on the Turkish coast where he was on holiday. Erdogan said he would swiftly return to Ankara.

In the capital Ankara, gunshots and loud explosions were heard, as military jets and helicopters were seen flying overhead, a Reuters news agency witness said. The state-run Anadolu Agency reported that a military helicopter had attacked the Ankara police headquarters and Reuters said the parliament was surrounded with tanks.

Another Reuters witness reported hearing gunfire at Istanbul airport.

"We know they have been acting outside the chain of command," Cemalettin Hasimi, a government spokesman told Al Jazeera, referring to the sections of the army behind the coup attempt.

"But forces of democracy have managed to take the situation back under control. The parliament will get together in half an hour."

An Al Jazeera correspondent in the coastal city of Izmir reported an unusually heavy military build-up in the city earlier in the day.

In Gaziantep, a city in the south, Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reported that supporters of Erdogan had taken to the streets. Cars could be seen streaming towards the airport, honking their horns.

The Dogan news agency quoted the military members on Friday as saying that they wanted "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 statement went on to say that "all international agreements and commitments will remain. We pledge that good relations with all world countries will continue".

Earlier, speaking on television, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that a number of generals were involved in what he called an attempted coup.
'Dissent in the military'

He vowed that the "perpetrators" would be contained, adding that the government would "never give up democracy".

Al Jazeera has learned that Istanbul's Ataturk international airport has been shut down and all flights have been cancelled.

An Al Jazeera reporter in Istanbul reported seeing military officers arriving at the central Taksim Square, and ordering everyone to leave.

"They were evacuating the entire square," our reporter said. "People are going home now."

Separately, a TRT World reporter told Al Jazeera that soldiers had entered the government-funded television network's building, ordered the channel off the air and taken the phones of staff members.

Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge were also been shut down by the army, local television channels reported. The two major bridges connect the Asian side of Istanbul to the European side.

Dogan footage showed cars and buses being diverted, according to Reuters.

Reuters witnesses in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, also spotted helicopters overhead.

"It seems there is dissent in the military ranks," Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr, reporting from Gaziantep, said.

Turkey has had a history of coup attempts, the last in 1997, which forced the resignation of then-prime minister Nemettin Erbakan.

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Turkey's Erdogan appears in Istanbul after coup bid

Government says coup attempt foiled as explosions continue to be heard in central Istanbul and Ankara.





Source: Al Jazeera

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared early on Saturday among a crowd of supporters at Istanbul's main airport, footage broadcast on local media showed, hours after a dramatic attempt by an army faction to topple the government.

Erdogan's arrival in Istanbul came after Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told broadcaster NTV on Saturday that the situation in Turkey was "largely under control".

Speaking at a news conference, Erdogan said those behind the plot would "pay a heavy price".

He said said he would stay with his "people" and not go anywhere after flying back to Istanbul from Marmaris, a coastal city.

"Shortly after I left, I have been told they bombed those locations where I had been," he told reporters. "I assumed they thought I was still there when they bombed those places."

Erodgan also said that the attempted coup was the work of supporters of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen, who Erdogan has long accused of attempting to use his followers in the judiciary and military to overthrow the government.

Gulen condemned the bid to overthrow Turkey's leader, saying "governments should be won through a process of free and fair elections, not force".

Earlier, thousands of people had heeded a call from the president to take to the streets and protest against the attempted coup.

Yildirim said more than 120 people were arrested, and Erdogan said many were army officers.

The prime minister said the military had been ordered by the presidency to shoot down planes hijacked by those involved in the coup attempt and that jets had been scrambled.
'We will overcome this'

Late on Friday, sections of the army had officially declared a coup and martial law, saying they had "taken control of the country" as Istanbul's main airport was closed and fighter jets were seen in the skies.

Turkey's intelligence agency MIT was targeted by hijacked helicopters but the coup attempt was "foiled", its spokesman told NTV television.

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

The broadcaster also reported that nearly 50 soldiers had been arrested.

However, even as the announcement by Yildirim came, at least two loud explosions were heard in central Istanbul, apparently emanating from neighbourhoods close to Taksim Square.

There were also reports of an explosion at the parliament building in the capital, Ankara.

The coup attempt was launched late on Friday when factions from the army blocked off bridges, fighter jets were spotted in the skies and gunfire and loud explosions were heard in Istanbul, the country's biggest city and Ankara, its capital.

The headquarters of state-run broadcaster TRT World were taken over and a presenter read out a stament from the faction behind the coup, which she later said she was forced to do at gunpoint.

"We know they have been acting outside the chain of command," Cemalettin Hasimi, a government spokesman told Al Jazeera, referring to the sections of the army behind the coup attempt.

In Gaziantep, a city in the south, Al Jazeera's Zeina Khodr reported that supporters of Erdogan had quickly taken to the streets shortly after he appeared on CNN Turk television urging them to do so. Cars could be seen streaming towards the airport, honking their horns.

"We will overcome this," Erdogan had said, speaking on a video call to a mobile phone held up to the camera by a presenter.

Source: Al Jazeera and agencies



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A man lies in front of a Turkish army tank at Ataturk airport in Istanbul, Turkey July 16, 2016. REUTERS/IHLAS News Agency




Source: http://live.reuters.com/Event/World_News?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social


Below is a timeline of breaking events in Turkey on Friday. All times in GMT, based on the times Reuters reported the events. Reuters does not vouch for events reported by other media.

2352 - Turkish PM says situation under control, blames Gulen movement, declares no-fly zone over Ankara. A U.S.-based organization close to Gulen earlier denied involvement.

2339 - Bomb hits parliament in Ankara, state-run Anadolu Agency says. Reuters witness hears blast in Istanbul.

2320 - Kerry says emphasized "absolute support for Turkey's democratically elected, civilian government and democratic institutions" in phone call with Turkish foreign minister.

2313 - Group close to U.S.-based cleric Gulen says accusations it was involved in coup attempt are "highly irresponsible". Condemns military intervention in Turkish politics, says concerned about safety of citizens.

2305 - President Obama says he and Secretary of State Kerry agree that all parties in Turkey should support elected government. Urges restraint, avoidance of bloodshed - White House statement.

2304 - State-run Anadolu Agency says 17 police killed at Ankara special forces HQ; no independent confirmation

2259 - Turkish fighter jet shoots down military helicopter used by coup-plotters over Ankara, broadcaster NTV says.

2251 - Commander of special forces says a group has engaged in treason, they will not succeed. Says military does not condone coup.

2247 - PM says gangs and illegal formations are behind coup attempt, and calls it a terrorist act. He says government remains in charge. Urges people to take to the streets.

2237 - Commander of Turkey's First Army, part of land forces responsible for Istanbul and other western areas, said those attempting a coup were a small faction and "nothing to worry about".

2226 - Two loud explosions heard in center of Turkish capital

2208 - Tanks surround Turkish parliament building, open fire. Gunfire heard at Istanbul airport.

2203 - Turkish justice minister says members of a movement loyal to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen in the army are behind the attempted coup.

2151 - A military helicopter opens fire over the Turkish capital Ankara, witnesses report an explosion in the capital.

2135 - Turkish state broadcaster TRT goes off air, but later starts broadcasting from London.

2126 - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urges people to take to the streets to protest against what he describes as a coup attempt by a minority faction within the military. Speaking to a CNN Turk reporter via a cellphone video link he says it will meet a "necessary response". He says he is returning to the capital Ankara.

2122 - Turkish PM says on Twitter everything will be done to put down coup attempt, even if it means fatalities. Says sieges are under way at some important buildings, without specifying, but urges people to remain calm.

2118 - Presidential source says president and government are still in power.

2105 - Turkish state broadcaster says reading statement on the orders of the military - that new constitution will be prepared, accuses government of eroding democratic and secular rule of law, that the country is being run by a "peace council", that martial law imposed, curfew imposed across the country.

2102 - Head of Istanbul branch of Turkey's ruling AK Party says soldiers enter party building, told to go.

2058 - Soldiers are inside buildings of Turkish state broadcaster TRT in Ankara, TRT correspondent tells Reuters.

2057 - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media restricted in Turkey, say internet monitoring groups.

2049 - Turkish presidential source says statement made on behalf of armed forces was not authorized by military command.

2047 - Turkish chief of military staff among hostages taken at military headquarters in Ankara, says state-run Anadolu agency.

2038 - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is safe, reports CNN Turk.

2025 - Turkish military says has taken power to protect democratic order. In a statement sent by email and reported on Turkish TV channels, the military says all of Turkey's existing foreign relations will be maintained.

2002 - Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says attempted coup under way, calls for calm. He says a group within Turkey's military has attempted to overthrow the government and security forces have been called in to "do what is necessary".

1950 - Gunshots are heard in Ankara, military jets and helicopters seen flying overhead. Helicopters seen overhead in Istanbul.

1929 - Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge are both closed. Dogan News Agency footage shows cars and buses being diverted.

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