Defiant Turkish civilians reclaimed the country from their own military after helping to end a coup by the army to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who called on people to remain on the streets today over fears over a fresh uprising.
Ordinary Turks confronted rifle-wielding soldiers, climbed atop tanks and laid in front of military vehicles in an effort to take back control of the country, ignoring a curfew issued by coup plotters designed to allow the army to bring down the government unopposed.
President Erdogan called on people to take to the streets, leading to reports of groups of soldiers surrendering at several key locations in Ankara and Istanbul, including Bosphorus Bridge, where 100 rebels laid down their arms and submitted themselves to advancing civilians and police officers.
There were unconfirmed reports of one soldier being beheaded by a mob of civilians on the bridge after a video surfaced online showing the crowd launching an attack on the downed man. However the video shows no beheading and it is unknown if this happened after the footage ended.
This morning the President used Twitter to call on supporters to prevent any additional military action, adding: 'We should keep on owning the streets no matter at what stage because a new flare-up could take place at any moment.'
Some 104 plotters were killed after a coup attempt to bring down the Turkish government, while 160 people - at least 41 of them police and 47 civilians - fell as 'martyrs'.
Throughout the night, supporters of Erdogan threw themselves in front of tanks at key landmarks to prevent the military from maintaining a stranglehold on the country, notably outside Ataturk airport in Istanbul, where some civilians lodged themselves under the wheels of tanks to stop them from advancing.
More than 2,800 rebels have been detained after their failed military coup that killed at least 250 and wounded more than 1,500, with Erdogan vowing revenge for the bloody uprising.
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A man lays down in front of a tank on the approach to Ataturk airport in Istanbul as citizens took to the streets to oppose the military coup
A soldier cowers as he is confronted by plain-clothes police officers and civilians after the military surrendered on Bosphorus Bridge
More than 2,800 rebels have been detained after their failed military coup that killed at least 250 as Turkish President Erdogan vows revenge for the bloody uprising (pictured: Up to 100 rebel soldiers surrendered on Bosphorus Bridge after their failed uprising)
Ordinary Turks confronted rifle-wielding soldiers, climbed atop tanks and laid in front of military vehicles in an effort to take back control of the country, ignoring a curfew issued by coup plotters designed to allow the army to bring down the government unopposed
People wave Turkish flags as they stand around the Republic Monument in Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey
A Turkish civilian whips soldiers with his belt after they surrendered to police on Bosphorus Bridge, a strategic landmark which was seized by the army during the coup
People climb on tanks after around a hundred soldiers occupying Bosphorus Bridge surrendered in Istanbul, Turkey early this morning
A young girl joins police officers loyal to President Erdogan atop a tank abandoned by military personnel who surrendered this morning
Civilians take cover outside the building of the General Staff, the final landmark still held by coup plotters who are in the process of surrendering to police officers
The President 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 Greek police ministry said a Turkish military helicopter landed in Greece this morning and eight men on board, thought to be senior coup plotters, have requested political asylum. Turkey has asked for the men, made up of seven soldiers and one civilian, to be extradited back to the country.
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 Pennsylvania, U.S. as the head of a billion dollar religious movement, has often been blamed for political unrest in Turkey.
The five hours of chaos began when two busloads of soldiers burst into the headquarters of the state-run TRT news agency, taking news off the air and replacing it with a stream of weather forecasts.
After launching the coup, the Turkish military imposed a curfew on civilians telling them to stay in their homes, but Erdogan called on supporters to ignore the order and take to the streets, which is thought to have caused the army to relinquish control.
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.'
Bloodied soldier surrounded by civilians on Bosphorus bridge
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Soldiers, who surrendered following the defeat of last night's attempted coup, are loaded onto a bus following their arrest by police officers and civilians
Men wave flags as they stand on tanks as people walk on the Bosphorus Bridge after taking over the military position in Istanbul
Civilians launch an attack on an armoured police car carrying Turkish soldiers who participated in the coup against President Erdogan
People celebrate on an abandoned military tank after they took over military position on the Bosphorus bridge in Istanbul
A civilian punches a Turkish soldier who took part in the failed military coup as he is led away by police having surrendered
Coup attempt soldiers' clothes lie abandoned on bridge
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People shout at the soliders involved in the coup attempt who have surrendered on Bosphorus Bridge following their surrender
A soldier lies dead underneath rubble following the defeat of a military coup by Turkey's army to overthrow President Erdogan
Police officers arrest a soldier after he was attacked by a mob of civilians following the surrender of 100 rebels on Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul
Up to 100 rebel soldiers surrendered on Bosphorus Bridge after their failed uprising. At least 2,863 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 250 people 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.
Colonel Muharrem Kose reportedly led the Turkish military forces in the uprising.
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.
A Turkish policeman and other people stand atop of a military vehicle in Ankara after crushing the rebellion
Clothes and weapons beloging to soldiers involved in the coup attempt that have now surrendered lie on the ground abandoned on Bosphorus Bridge
The man then stood up and took off his shirt in an effort the present the tank from taking position in the airport
The police siege around the building of the General Staff, thought to be the final landmark held by coup plotters who are in the process of negotiating their surrender
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 had 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.
People wave national flags as they march from Kizilay square to Turkish General Staff building to react against military coup attempt
Civilians help police officers to arrest soldiers at Taksim Square in Istanbul after ordinary Turks helped to stop the attempted coup
People gather for celebration around Turkish police officers, loyal to the government, standing atop tanks abandoned by Turkish army officers
Turkish soldiers surrender on Bosporus bridge in Istanbul
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Defiant citizens block tanks as Turkish military launch coup
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Meanwhile, Erdogan made it clear he believes rival Gulen is behind the attack.
Gulen's nonprofit organization, the Alliance for Shared Values, denies any involvement and condemned the actions of the Turkish military.
Gulen, 75, was initially a close ally of Erdogan, who rose from the mayor of Istanbul to prime minister before he became president in 2014.
But the two fell out over a massive corruption scandal in 2013 that cost the country $100billion in a campaign thought to be initiated by Gulen's followers against Erdogan's closest allies.
Trained as an imam, Fethullah Gulen gained notice in Turkey some 50 years ago, promoting a philosophy that blended a mystical form of Islam with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue.
Erdogan has long accused Gulen of plotting to overthrow the officially secular government from a gated 26-acre compound in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains, which has a population of about 1,100.
The President, who was on vacation in the resort town of Marmaris when the coup began, issued a statement to CNN tonight referring to a 'parallel structure' behind the coup, a reference to Gulen's followers.
Supporters of Recep Tayyip Erdogan ambush a tank as it attempts to seize ground in Turkey's capital city of Ankara
One man throws himself onto the front of a moving tank. Supporters played a key role in stopping the military from taking control
Turkish civilians throw a tarpaulin over a tank to stop it from seizing control of key locations in Ankara
Pictured: Groups of protesters take to the streets of Ankara and face down soldiers rolling through the city in tanks
“Turkish Armed Forces have completely taken over the administration of the country to reinstate constitutional order, human rights and freedoms, the rule of law and the general security that was damaged,”the military said in a statement.“All international agreements are still valid. We hope that all of our good relationships with all countries will continue.”
Around midnight local time, a TRT anchor announced the country was now run by a “Peace Council” that will ensure the safety of the population.
Tanks have been posted outside Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport and in other locations in the city.
Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag reportedly blamed the coup on Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish preacher currently residing in the US. A former ally of President Erdogan’s AKP party, Gülen fell out of favor in 2013.
President Recep Erdogan is reportedly on vacation in the southern Turkish resort town of Bodrum.
About half an hour after midnight local time on Saturday, Erdogan appeared on CNN Turk (via Skype), issuing a statement blaming “parallel state” for the coup, calling for people to take to the streets, and vowing “We will overcome this.”
Tanks have been posted outside Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport, while armored vehicles were photographed outside TRT offices. All flights from Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport have been canceled, Reuters reported citing a witness.
The Turkish military announced it was seizing power in the country “to protect the democratic order and to maintain human rights.”
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