Turkish Prime Minister Says Military Coup Underway in Ankara
Editors' pick: Originally published July 15.
A faction within the Turkish military has undertaken an armed coup in the capital city of Ankara, and state security forces are moving against them, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Friday.
Gunshots, tank movements, and military jet overflights have been reported in the city.
Yildirim called the apparent military coup "an illegal action outside of the chain of command" in comments broadcast by private channel NTV, Haaretz reports. "The government elected by the people remains in charge. This government will only go when the people say so."
The Turkish military read a statement on state television shortly after midnight local time, say that it had seized control of the government, the AP reported.
The Turkish Lira dropped as much as 3% against the U.S. Dollar late Friday.
Tanks were reportedly sighted outside Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul.
All flights departing from the airport have been canceled. Only Turkish Airlines aircraft are being allowed to land, according to Airlive.
An airport employee reached by phone late Friday afternoon said he could see no military activity inside the airport.
"We can't see outside. Right now we are just waiting," the employee told TheStreet. Asked what he was waiting for, the person replied, "we don't know, everything maybe."