page_title: 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt
section_title: Government response and conflict
hierarchical_section_title: 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt / Events / Government response and conflict
caption_attribution_description: English: Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2017
context_page_description: The 15 July 2016 coup d'état, was attempted in Turkey against state institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The attempt was carried out by a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces that organized themselves as the Peace at Home Council. They attempted to seize control of several key places in Ankara, Istanbul, and elsewhere, but failed to do so after forces loyal to the state defeated them. The Council cited an erosion of secularism, elimination of democratic rule, disregard for human rights, and Turkey's loss of credibility in the international arena as reasons for the coup. The government said the coup leaders were linked to the Gülen movement, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the Republic of Turkey and led by Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish businessman and cleric who lives in Pennsylvania. The Turkish government stated Gülen was behind the coup and said the United States was harboring him. Gülen has suggested the coup was in fact a "self-coup" carried out by Erdoğan to consolidate his grip on power, a view shared by some political analysts and Turks.
context_section_description: The Turkish Presidential office said President Erdoğan was on holiday inside Turkey and safe, and condemned the coup attempt as an attack on democracy. A presidential source also said Erdoğan and his government were still in power. The first messages from Erdoğan were transmitted at around 00:23 At about 01:00, Erdoğan did a FaceTime interview with CNN Türk, in which he called upon his supporters to take to the streets in defiance of the military-imposed curfew, saying "There is no power higher than the power of the people. Let them do what they will at public squares and airports." Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş appeared on live television, saying Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is still in charge of the government. The mayor of Ankara, Melih Gökçek of the AKP, encouraged people to go out to the city's streets in defiance, despite a curfew imposed by the military. Erdoğan's plane took off from Dalaman Airport near Marmaris at 23:47, but had to wait in the air south of Atatürk for the airport to be secured. His plane landed at 02:50
  The First Army General Command in Istanbul stated in a news conference that the TSK did not support the coup and the perpetrators represented a very small faction that were on the verge of being brought under control. Istanbul Atatürk Airport was closed; all flights from the airport were cancelled. There was an explosion in the TRT broadcasting headquarters and gunfire was reported in Ankara. Soon after, it was stormed by a crowd of civilians and police, with four soldiers inside reportedly being "neutralized". The channel went back on air and Karaş, who had previously announced the coup, said live that she had been held hostage and forced to read the declaration of the coup at gunpoint.
  By 01:00, it was reported that the military had pulled its forces from the Atatürk airport and people were coming inside, but by 01:13, it was reported that tanks were inside the airport and gunfire was heard.
  Tanks opened fire near the Turkish Parliament Building. The parliamentary building was also hit from the air. Injuries were reported among protesters following gunfire on Bosphorus Bridge.
  A helicopter belonging to the pro-coup forces was shot down by a Turkish military F-16 fighter jet. There were also reports of pro-government jets flying over Ankara to "neutralize" helicopters used by those behind the coup.
  At 03:08, a military helicopter opened fire on the Turkish parliament. At 03:10, Turkish Armed Forces stated on their website that they had complete control over the country. However, at 03:12, Yıldırım made a statement saying that the situation was under control and that a no-fly zone was declared over Ankara and that military planes that still flew would be shot down.
  It was reported that the Turkish parliament had been bombed again at 03:23 and 03:33. A helicopter belonging to the pro-coup forces was also seen flying by it. Half an hour following the report of 12 deaths and 2 injuries in the parliament, soldiers entered CNN Türk's headquarters and forced the studio to go off air. After an hour of interruption by the pro-coup soldiers, CNN Türk resumed its broadcast. Later, İsmail Kahraman said a bomb exploded at a corner of the public relations building inside the parliament, with no deaths but several injuries among police officers.
  At around 04:00 two or three helicopters attacked Erdogan's hotel. According to eyewitness accounts, ten to fifteen heavily armed men landed and started firing. In the ensuing conflict, two policemen were killed and 8 were injured.
  The Doğan News Agency reported that in Istanbul several individuals were injured after soldiers fired on a group of people that was attempting to cross the Bosphorus Bridge in protest of the attempted coup.
caption: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
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