Istanbul/Ankara: Turkey’s military said early this morning it had seized power, with soldiers taking to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul as the prime minister vowed the putschists would “pay the highest price”.
If successful, the overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey since 2003, would be one of the biggest shifts in the Middle East in years, transforming one of the most important US allies in the region while war rages on its border.
Airports were shut, access to Internet social media sites was cut off, and troops sealed off the two bridges over the Bosphorus in Istanbul, one of which was still lit up red, white and blue in solidarity with victims of the Bastille Day truck attack in France a day earlier.
Warplanes and helicopters roared over the capital Ankara. Loud explosions were heard in Ankara and reports said an explosion occurred at the state-run television building. Turkey’s state-run news agency said military helicopters also attacked the headquarters of TURKSAT satellite station on the outskirts of Ankara and the Ankara Police headquarters.
Dozen of tanks were seen moving towards a palace that is now used by the prime minister and deputy prime ministers.
Soldiers took control of TRT state television, which announced a countrywide curfew and martial law. An announcer read a statement on the orders of the military that accused the government of eroding the democratic and secular rule of law. The country would be run by a “peace council” that would ensure the safety of the population, the statement said.
TRT later went off the air.
The state-run Anadolu news agency said the chief of Turkey’s military staff was among people taken “hostage” in Ankara. CNN Turk also reported that hostages were being held at the military headquarters.
A senior EU source monitoring the situation said: “It looks like a relatively well orchestrated coup by a significant body of the military, not just a few colonels. They’ve got control of the airports and are expecting control over the TV station imminently. They control several strategic points in Istanbul.
“Given the scale of the operation, it is difficult to imagine they will stop short of prevailing. It’s not just a few colonels,” the source repeated.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking jointly after talks in Moscow, said they hoped bloodshed would be avoided. The US State Department said Americans in Turkey should shelter indoors. Other countries issued similar advice.
Turkey, a Nato member with the second biggest military in the Western alliance, is one of the most important allies of the US in the fight against Islamic State, which seized swathes of neighbouring Iraq and Syria.
Turkey is one of the main backers of opponents of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in that country’s civil war, host to 2.7 million Syrian refugees and launchpad last year for the biggest influx of migrants to Europe since the Second World War.
Celebratory gunfire erupted in Syria’s capital Damascus as reports emerged that Erdogan had been toppled, and people took to the streets to celebrate there and in the government-held section of the divided city of Aleppo.
Turkey 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.
In an earlier statement sent by email and reported on TV channels, the military said it had taken power to protect the democratic order and to maintain human rights. All of Turkey’s existing foreign relations would be maintained and the rule of law would remain the priority, it said.
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 opponents say his rule has become increasingly authoritarian.
His AK Party has long had a strained relationship with the military and nationalists in a state that was founded on secularist principles after the First World War.
The military has a history of mounting coups to defend secular principles, but has not seized power directly since 1980.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim denounced what he said was an “illegal attempt” by elements of the military. He 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. “The government elected by the people remains in charge. This government will only go when the people say so.”
“Those who are in this illegal act will pay the highest price,” he added, insisting it would not be correct to describe the move as a “coup”.
Reports said Istanbul had been turned into a ghost town after the events, with people who had been outside for a Friday night rushing home for safety.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed for calm as the world body sought to clarify the situation in the country, said a UN spokesman.
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