President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan claimed his forces have successfully defeated the coup attempted by some in the military, which left over 250 dead and thousands injured. He promised a swift and quick retaliation for those who retaliated against him. It didn’t take him long:
Authorities arrested General Adem Huduti, commander of the Second Army. He has become the most senior official detained for the coup.
In all, the government has detained 3,000 people.
The attempted coup also foiled America’s operation against the Islamic State in Syria. The government has shut down the airspace, which means the U.S. cannot fly out of the air base at Incirlik:
“We are monitoring the situation in Turkey closely and are taking appropriate steps to ensure the safety and security of our service members, civilians, their families, and our facilities,” said a US defence official. “As of this time, there has been no impact to Incirlik Air Base and counter-[Isis] air operations from Incirlik continue.”
Greece said they will extradite those who sought asylum.
Erdoğan flew to Istanbul last night where he said the coup “is a blessing from Allah, because it will allow us to purge the military.” Yeah, well, not just the military:
The Turkish Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) laid off 2,745 judges and removed five members after an extraordinary meeting on Saturday, which came after a failed coup attempt by the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ), while 10 Court of Appeals members were detained, and detention warrants were issued for 140 others.Some members of the state council who have connections with the FETÖ terror organization were also detained, according to the Anadolu Agency.Some 541 judges were from courts of first instance among the total 2,745 judges who were laid off, while the remaining 2,204 judges were from courts of original jurisdiction.At least 1,563 army personnel, including give generals and 29 colonels were detained across Turkey on Saturday according to the Interior Ministry, after a bloody coup attempt by the FETÖ terror organization, headed by U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gülen, who is said to have infiltrated Turkey’s state apparatus with thousands of followers in an effort to overthrow the democratically elected government.
Erdoğan insists the Gülen Movement, led by Fethullah Gülen, led the coup despite their condemnation of the military’s actions:
“For more than 40 years, Fethullah Gulen and Hizmet participants have advocated for, and demonstrated their commitment to, peace and democracy. We have consistently denounced military interventions in domestic politics. These are core values of Hizmet participants. We condemn any military intervention in domestic politics of Turkey,” the group said.”Events on the ground are moving quickly and it would be irresponsible for us to speculate on them. We remain concerned about the safety and security of Turkish citizens and those in Turkey right now. Comments by pro-Erdogan circles about the movement are highly irresponsible.”
Gülen resides in Pennsylvania due to a self-imposed exile in 1999. However, he remained an ally of Erdoğan until 2013 when the courts launched a corruption investigation against the then-prime minister. Erdoğan quickly squashed the investigation, but blamed his old ally “for orchestrating the scandal.”
As daylight broke, more images surfaced from the night:
Turkey, a member of NATO, received support around the world:
Parliament shows unity against the coup, even the parties at odds with the AKP Party:
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