The Turkish military released a statement saying they had taken control of the country in the name of democratic order, although the government said that the coup was organised by a minority group.
The military gave Turkish state broadcaster TRT a statement which confirmed a coup d’etat and that martial law had been imposed.
The statement said that the military action was in protest against the corruption in Turkey’s government that has infected the country’s democratic and secular rule, and that Turkey would now be ruled by a ‘peace council’.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was confirmed to be ‘safe’ by government sources who said that he was away on holiday.
Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan celebrate with flags in Ankara, Turkey
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that the military were acting outside the chain of command and security forces are working to resolve the situation.
“The government elected by the people remains in charge. This government will only go when the people say so,” he remarked earlier. He said those responsible for the attempted coup will ‘pay the highest price’.
Yildirim insisted that the government remained in power, although unnamed military sources said that it had taken over for ‘democratic order’.
Thousands of rejoicing Turks filled Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Saturday evening, less than 24 hours after a failed coup by a faction of the Turkish military.
In cities across Turkey, huge crowds of supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrated the quashing of the coup attempt.
Two hundred and sixty-five people were killed as violence gripped Ankara and Istanbul. Officials said that of this total, 161 were police and civilians and 104 were people involved in the coup attempt.
Close to 3,000 soldiers, including some top military commanders, have been arrested as part of the government crackdown on those that took part. It is not clear who was behind the plot to oust the government.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the government have accused US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen of orchestrating the plan.
The cleric has denied playing any role in the attempted coup, which he called an affront to democracy, and told reporters he believed Erdogan had staged the putsch.
