Turkish Citizens Take to the Streets to Confront Military Coup

Several hours ago, the Turkish military began a coup attempt on the government of President Tayyip Erdogan. Elements of the Turkish army have been barricading bridges over the Boshorus into Istanbul and have surrounded the Turkish Parliament building with tanks in the capital city of Ankara.

Reuters reports:

A senior EU source monitoring the situation said: “It looks like a relatively well orchestrated coup by a significant body of the military, not just a few colonels. They’ve got control of the airports and are expecting control over the TV station imminently. They control several strategic points in Istanbul. “Given the scale of the operation, it is difficult to imagine they will stop short of prevailing. It’s not just a few colonels,” the source repeated.

In response to the coup, President Erdogan called for his supporters to take to the street, leading to tense confrontations with military members. Turkish citizens were able to retake a government television station from coup plotters and CNN is reporting that a rebel helicopter was downed by a pro-government F-16. President Erdagon has returned to Istanbul and spokespersons are assuring the coup has been defeated.

There are, however, still conflicting reports; some indicating that military aggression is ongoing. CNN Turk is now being shutdown by the military.

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