Turkish army ‘takes over power’

An attempt at a full-scale military coup rocked Turkey on Friday evening, after the army took control of the country’s main airport, closed major bridges and flew fighter jets over the capital.

‘The power in the country has been seized in its entirety,’ said a military statement read on local television, declaring it was to protect the democratic order and to maintain human rights.

The statement announced martial law across Turkey and promised a new constitution, saying that democracy and the secular rule of law had been undermined. Turkish state broadcaster TRT was immediately taken off the air afterwards.

Binali Yildirim, the prime minister, ordered security forces to ‘do what is necessary’ to suppress the takeover, reports Telegraph.

Turkey’s Istanbul-based first army commander said the soldiers involved in an attempted coup ‘represent a small group’, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency.

Turkey’s state-run news agency reported military helicopters had attacked the headquarters of TURKSAT satellite station on the outskirts of Ankara and the Ankara Police headquarters. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said 17 police officers had been killed in the attack.

Turkish fighter jets shot down a military helicopter over the capital Ankara that was being used by plotters attempting a coup, broadcaster NTV said.

Dozens of tanks were seen moving toward a palace that is now used by the prime minister and deputy prime ministers.

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.

Turkish state broadcaster TRT resumed broadcasting in the early hours of Saturday while Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the situation was largely under control, adding that the attempted coup was an act of rebellion by followers of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. A US-based organisation close to Gulen has denied involvement.

Where is President Tayyip  Erdogan?
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged 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.

An official said Erdogan was speaking from Marmaris on the Turkish coast where he was on holiday.
Protests

Turks appeared to heed the calls of  Mr Erdogan and Turkish Prime Miniser Binali Yildirim, taking to the streets of Izmir and Istanbul waving Turkish flags, according to television footage. Crowds also began gathering in the main square in the capital, Ankara.

The Dogan news agency reported that soldiers fired on a group of people trying to cross the Bosporus Bridge to protest the attempted coup, and that some people had been hurt.

Clashes took place between supporters of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), police and soldiers
across Istanbul, with reports that one civilian was shot dead.

Access to country
Soldiers blocked entry to Istanbul`s main Ataturk Airport, where four tanks were stationed, according to the private Dogan news agency. Two other tanks and a military vehicle were stationed in front of the VIP terminal. Dogan said the soldiers had entered the tower and stopped all flights.

Access was restricted in Turkey on Friday to Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc and Alphabet Inc’s YouTube shortly after news that a military coup was under way, according to two internet monitoring groups.

Twitter’s official global public policy team tweeted: "We have no reason to think we’ve been fully blocked in #Turkey, but we suspect there is an intentional slowing of our traffic in country.’

World leaders reaction
British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said he was ‘very concerned’ by events in Turkey. ‘Our embassy is monitoring the situation closely,’ Mr Johnson said in a message posted on Twitter. ‘Brits should follow FCO (Foreign & Commonwealth Office) website for advice.’

US President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday night about events in Turkey and agreed that all parties there should support the democratically elected government, show restraint and avoid any violence or bloodshed, the White House said.

‘The Secretary underscored that the State Department will continue to focus on the safety and security of US citizens in Turkey. The president asked the secretary to continue to keep him updated as the situation unfolds,’ the White House said in a statement.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appealed for calm as the world body sought to clarify the situation in the country, said a UN spokesman.

‘The Secretary-General is closely following developments in Turkey. He is aware of the reports of a coup attempt in the country. The United Nations is seeking to clarify the situation on the ground and appeals for calm,’ said spokesman Farhan Haq.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urged ‘restraint’ in Turkey, while Moscow was "deeply concerned" about the situation, the Kremlin said.

‘Moscow is deeply concerned about the news coming from Turkey,’ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, adding that President Vladimir Putin was being constantly informed of new developments by the Russian foreign ministry and intelligence services.

A Nato official at alliance headquarters in Brussels said ‘we’re following events closely,’ but said he had no other comment.

Syria
Hundreds of cheering people took to the streets of Damascus early on Saturday and celebratory gunfire erupted after Turkey’s army said it seized power from President Tayyip Erdogan, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad`s main regional opponents.

Residents said convoys of cars were processing around the Mazzeh district of the Syrian capital, with people waving flags and shouting: ‘God, Syria and Bashar!’. There were similar celebrations in other government-held cities.

Mr Assad’s government has accused Erdogan of fuelling Syria’s five-year conflict by supporting Islamist insurgents battling Damascus and allowing foreign jihadis to cross the border from Turkey into Syria.

A resident in the government-held part of the northern city of Aleppo said people believed that ‘Erdogan’s fall is an announcement of the end of the crisis in Syria, given he is the one chiefly responsible for the crisis’.