A Turkish army faction backed by tanks and fighter jets was waging a coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday, but the strongman returned to Istanbul, defiantly claiming to have regained control.
Soldiers and tanks took to the streets early on Saturday morning. Multiple explosions rang out throughout the night in Ankara and Istanbul, the two biggest cities of the strategic NATO country of 80 million people.
With officials insisting the takeover bid was falling apart, officials said 90 people have been killed and 1563 detained in a night of violence in Turkey’s major cities.
Dozens of soldiers backing the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus bridge in Istanbul that they held throughout the night, holding their hands above their heads as they were detained, television pictures showed.
What is being perpetrated is a treason and a rebellion. They will pay a heavy price for this act of treason. We will not leave our country to occupiers.
World leaders called for calm, with US President Barack Obama and other Western countries urging support for the government which they said had been elected in democratic elections.
The night of drama and bloodshed brings new instability to the Middle East region, with Turkey a key powerbroker in the ongoing Syria conflict.
Video Editor: Prashant Bhardwaj
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)