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In pics: Turkey coup attempt crumbles as people answer Erdogan's call
An attempted Turkish military coup crumbled in the wee hours of Saturday, 16 July, after crowds answered President Recep Tayyip Erdogan\'s call to take to the streets to support him.
Dozens of rebel soldiers abandoned their tanks in the city of Istanbul.
The state news agency, Anadolu, says the death toll stands at 90. A further 1,154 people have been wounded, it reports.
Around 50 soldiers involved in the coup surrendered on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul after dawn on Saturday, abandoning their tanks with their hands raised in the air, according to news reports. Government supporters even attacked the pro-coup soldiers who had surrendered.
'Act of treason'
A successful overthrow of Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey since 2003, would have marked one of the biggest shifts in the Middle East in years, transforming one of the most important US allies while war rages on its borders. A failed coup attempt could still destabilise a pivotal country.
Erdogan, who had been holidaying on the southwest coast when the coup was launched, flew into Istanbul before dawn on Saturday and was shown on TV among a crowd of supporters outside Ataturk airport.
The uprising was an 'act of treason', and those responsible would pay a heavy price, Erdogan told reporters at a news conference. Arrests of officers were under way, and the 'cleansing of the military' would go up the ranks, he said.
Addressing a crowd of thousands of flag-waving supporters at the airport later, Erdogan said the government remained at the helm, although disturbances continued in capital Ankara.
However, in an emailed statement from the Turkish military general staff's media office address, the pro-coup faction of the military said it was determinedly still fighting.
Calling itself the Peace at Home Movement, the faction also called on people to stay indoors for their own safety.
How the coup attempt unfolded
Gunfire and explosions had rocked both Istanbul and Ankara in a chaotic night after soldiers took up positions in both cities and ordered state television to read out a statement declaring they had grabbed power.
The coup began with warplanes and helicopters roaring over Ankara, and troops moving in to seal off the bridges over the Bosphorus Strait that links Europe and Asia in Istanbul.
Momentum turned against the coup plotters as the night wore on. Crowds defied orders to stay indoors, gathering at major squares in Istanbul and Ankara, waving flags and chanting.
"We have a prime minister, we have a chief of command, we're not going to leave this country to degenerates," shouted one man, as groups of government supporters climbed onto a tank near Ataturk airport.
Airports were shut and access to internet and social media sites was cut off in the early hours of the coup attempt. Flag carrier Turkish Airways resumed flights on Saturday, Erdogan said.
Photo curation by Priyata Brajabasi
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