Over 90 people and 17 police officers were killed during the failed coup attempt in Turkey by a military group to overthrow the Erdogan government, late Friday. The situation at the moment is chaotic and still unclear, with pro-coup soldiers and tanks taking control of strategic points in the country including state TV and shutting down social media. Latest reports say the plane of President Recep Erdogan has landed in Istanbul after vowing the masterminds of the military group would pay a high price for what they had done in a facetime address to the Turkish people. President Erdogan called on the Turkish people to take to the streets and show their support to democracy. People are gathering on the streets of Istanbul, Ankara and other major cities opposing the military coup. A statement read earlier on TV by the military group said a “peace council” now ran the country and there was a curfew and martial law.
It is unclear who the group is or its level of support. Some top army officials are said to be detained. Meanwhile, a Turkish F-16 fighter has shot down a helicopter reportedly full of soldiers in support of the coup attempt. According to the latest reports from Turkish news agency Anadolu, a helicopter has bombed the Turkish parliament with MPs inside confirming the strike, while there are also reports of gun shots. There are no reports of any casualties inside the parliament. Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the leader of the military coup has surrendered to the official authorities. The White House released a statement calling for restraint on both sides stressing the US supported the democratically elected government. The Greek President, Prokopis Pavlopoulos issued a statement making it clear that Greece supported the democratically elected government in Turkey.
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