Erdogan made his triumphant return back to Istanbul after his forces quelled the coup on Friday evening, as he warned that the members of the military behind the plot to oust him would pay a ‘heavy price for their treason’.
The rebel army faction – who call themselves the ‘Peace Council’ – said they were trying to overthrow the government to ‘protect human rights’ and restore democracy from Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, AKP, which has repeatedly faced criticism from human rights groups and Western allies over its brutal crackdowns on anti-government protesters.
However, Erdogan has blamed his old scapegoat, Fethullah Gulen, for orchestrating the uprising. Muslim cleric Gulen, the president’s rival who lives in self-imposed exile in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania as the head of a billion dollar religious movement, has often been blamed for political unrest in Turkey.
During the five hours of chaos, which began when two busloads of soldiers burst into the headquarters of state run TRT news agency, taking news off the air and replacing it with a stream of weather forecasts, explosions were heard across Ankara.
After the uprising was crushed in the early hours of Saturday morning, Erdogan told the gathered masses at Ataturk Airport that those loyal to Gulen had “penetrated the Armed Forces and the police, among other government agencies, over the past 40 years.
“What is being perpetrated is a rebellion and a treason,” Erdogan said. ‘They will pay a heavy price for their treason to Turkey.’
Up to 100 rebel soldiers surrendered on Bosphorus Bridge after their failed uprising. At least 120 connected have been arrested in connection with the dramatic coup which lasted approximately five hours.
New British foreign secretary Boris Johnson said on Twitter that he has spoken to Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu following the attempted military coup, adding: “I underlined UK support for the democratic elected government and institutions.”
Explosions and gunfire erupted in Istanbul and Ankara on Friday night during the coup, which killed at least 90 people – at least 17 of which were police officers – in the army’s bid to overthrow the Islamic government.
Elsewhere, troops opened fire on civilians attempting to cross the river Bosporus in Istanbul in protest to the military coup, while a bomb exploded at the parliament building according to the state’s press agency as the security situation in the country becomes more perilous.
Kose had recently been kicked out of the army, from his position as head of the military’s legal advisory department, over his links to Gulen. He was killed during the clashes with Erdogan’s supporters, sources report.
As military took to the streets, Erdogan had urged his supporters to ignore a curfew and take back control of the country.
Tanks and armoured personnel carriers tried to seize strategic points in Istanbul and Ankara but were faced down by unarmed civilians who lay down in front of the heavy armour.
Police Special Forces headquarters was also hit and was razed to the ground. Other witnesses reported attack helicopters firing machine guns in the capital Ankara in a bid to depose the Islamic government.
There were also reports that a Turkish Air Force F-16 has shot down a Sikorsky helicopter over Ankara. The government claimed the jet destroyed the helicopter which had been ‘hijacked by coup plotters’.
In Takism square, around 30 rebel soldiers surrendered following a gun battle with police loyal to Erdogan. A number of F-16 fighter jets had screamed across the square at low level blasting the area with a sonic boom.
During the night, both the civilian government and the military claimed they were in control of the country, with reports of sporadic gunfire and explosions.
In a statement, the army faction said that they took action “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 Turkish military has also long seen its role as safeguarding Turkey’s secularist agenda, and has staged numerous coup’s over the last 60 years when it feels the government’s stance is moving too far away from that.
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