Sounds like Turkey might turn into something like Egypt?
begin quote from:
| Wall Street Journal | - |
ISTANBUL—The
Turkish military said Friday that it had seized control of the
government as tanks took up positions outside Istanbul's airport, jets
flew low over the capital and troops seized the state-run television
station.
Turkish Military Claims Successful Coup, But Government Says It’s Still in Charge
Prime minister says coup plotters will pay heavy price
ENLARGE
Turkish soldiers block
Istanbul's Bosphorus Bridge on Friday. The bridges across the Bosphorus
Strait separate the European and Asian sides of the city.
Photo:
Gokhan Tan/Getty Images
The Turkish military said in a statement that it was seizing control to “reestablish constitutional order” as it moved to take over all government responsibilities.
ENLARGE
Turkish internal security officers pass a Turkish soldier in Istanbul on Friday.
Photo:
bulent kilic/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
“The government elected by the people remains in charge,” he said. “This government will only go when the people say so.”
Turkish troops closed off two major bridges over the Bosphorus Strait. Television footage showed military tanks outside Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport.
ENLARGE
Turkish soldiers detain Turkish police officers (in black) in Istanbul on Friday.
Photo:
yasin akgul/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
A Turkish presidential official said that “a group within the armed forces tried to overthrow the democratically elected government.” The official said the uprising was an “attack against Turkish democracy” that would be put down.
“Turkey’s democratically elected president and government are in power,” the official said. “We will not tolerate attempts to undermine our democracy.”
Markets with ties to Turkey fell sharply in late-day trade in New York on reports of the attempted coup. The iShares MSCI Turkey ETF, which tracks an index of Turkish securities and trades in the U.S., fell 2.5% at the tail end of the U.S. trading day.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who was in Moscow, said the U.S. had seen the coup reports but didn’t have additional information. He said the U.S. is hoping for “stability, peace and continuity within Turkey.”
The heads of the Greek army, navy and air force have been summoned to the defense ministry to assess the situation in Turkey, a senior armed forces official said.
—Yeliz Candemir, Costas Paris and Ben Eisen contributed to this article.
Write to Dion Nissenbaum at dion.nissenbaum@wsj.com and Emre Peker at emre.peker@wsj.com 
