Turkish Coup Appears to Unravel: President Erdogan Back in Istanbul

Broadcasters returned to the air after being forced off by unknown soldiers, and the top politician promised revenge.
By Andrew Bulkeley ,

Turkish citizens spilled out into the streets and filled Istanbul's Taksim Square early Saturday following an attempted coup late Friday that was led by an as-yet unknown faction of the country's military, according to Haaretz.

The coup's success remained unclear as dawn neared in Istanbul with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowing to mete out justice by cleansing the military of those involved, according to the BBC. The president, who was elected in a 2014 vote, spoke during a hasty press conference at Ataturk Airport after he returned early from vacation to deal with the putsch.

Several state-run and private news stations were taken off the air during the coup but the broadcasters, including CNN's local incarnation, slowly returned to the air, indicating the coup may have been unsuccessful.

During the initial stages, the two bridges across the Bosphorus, which separates Turkey's Asian and European sides, were closed by the military, and shots could be heard on at least one bridge in video of the event.

The Turkish lira plummeted 4.55% against the dollar to end Friday trading at $0.33132.

"Some people illegally undertook an illegal action outside of the chain of command," Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said in comments broadcast by private channel NTV, according to Haaretz. "The government elected by the people remains in charge. This government will only go when the people say so."

In the U.S., President Barack Obama spoke with Secretary of State John Kerry and urged those on both sides of the coup to avoid bloodshed and "support the democratically elected government of Turkey," according to a White House statement.

The coup began with the state-run broadcaster running a statement accusing the current government of turning the back on its democratic, secular platform and promised to usher in a more peaceful government.

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