An attempted military coup is underway in Istanbul, Turkey, where martial law has been declared. Earlier, the Turkish armed forces announced it had taken “full control” of the government.
Turkish military officials have been jailed, and the armed forces shut down social media networks including Facebook, Twitter.com, and Youtube.com.
President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an, who is away on vacation, urged the people to go out into the streets in violation of the curfew to resist the military coup.
President Erdo?an used his iPhone’s FaceTime app to speak to the people.
“There is no power higher than the power of the people,” he said.
Turkish military blocked two bridges and a road to the airport. Gunshots can be heard in footage of crowds near the military headquarters at the capital city of Ankara. People are seen climbing on military tanks.
Fox News reports there are civilian casualties.
The U.S. military and other NATO allies use the Turkish airbase to launch airstrikes on ISIS strongholds in Syria.
If there is a coup underway, the U.S. military must leave the airbase. U.S. policy states the military can’t interfere in a country that is in the middle of a coup.
According to Fox News, the U.S. provides billions of dollars in weapons and ammunition to Turkey. It is unknown if those weapons are being turned on the people.
Turkish president gives distressed interview via Facetime https://t.co/Gh2EUN4PMx pic.twitter.com/0gDVOsGfcA
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) July 15, 2016
