bdmetronews desk ॥ Turkey’s president declared he was in control of the country early Saturday as government forces fought to squash a coup attempt during a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire that left dozens dead.
They arrested more than 750 soldiers across the country, fired colonels and generals and rescued the military chief in an operation at an air base in the outskirts of Ankara.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned coup supporters that “they will pay a heavy price for their treason to Turkey,” according to a transcript of his remarks provided by his office. “Those who stain the military’s reputation must leave. The process has started today, and it will continue just as we fight other terrorist groups.”
Turkey’s state-run news agency, Anadlou, says military chief of staff Gen. Hulusi Akar is taking over the command of the operation against the coup plotters, CNN-Turk said.
Fighting continued throughout the morning, with the sounds of huge blasts echoing across the capital, Ankara, and Istanbul, including at least one bomb that hit the parliament complex. Television footage showed images of destruction at the parliament, which according to a lawmaker was targeted by three bombs, with broken glass and other debris strewn across a lobby leading to the assembly hall.
Government officials said the coup appeared to have failed as Turks took to the streets overnight to confront troops attempting to take over the country.
The chaos capped a period of political turmoil in Turkey which critics blamed on Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule, which has included a government shake-up, a crackdown on dissidents and opposition media and renewed conflict in the mainly Kurdish areas of the southeast.
by AP
