Coup attempt claimed lives of 252 soldiers, civilians before being defeated in nearly 21 hours
Tanju Ozkaya |
14.07.2023 – Update : 15.07.2023
ANKARA
It has been seven years since the resistance of July 15, 2016, when the Turkish nation braved bombs and bullets to prevent a bloody coup attempt by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
Seeking to infiltrate the Turkish state since it was founded, FETO attempted a coup on the night of July 15, exposing its unlawful acts it had committed under the guise of a religious community.
After the Justice and Development (AK) Party came to power with 49% of the votes in general elections on Nov. 1, 2015, FETO was shaken by a decision by prosecutors in the western province of Izmir to arrest soldiers affiliated with the terror group.
The terror group decided to stage the coup once it realized that its schemes would not be enough to reverse the move, including by summoning then-Undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Hakan Fidan and other senior officials for questioning, a large-scale raid on Dec. 17-25, 2013 to detain prominent government figures, and stopping MIT trucks near the Syrian border in 2014.
A recorded speech by US-based FETO ringleader Fethullah Gulen on March 19, 2016, was identified as a call for the putsch.
Following Gulen’s orders, civilian and military members of the terror group went into action as they completed preparations for the coup attempt across Türkiye.
Bulent Aydin, the bodyguard of then-Land Forces Commander Salih Zeki Colak, was killed by the putschists at the General Staff Headquarters. Aydin was recorded as the first to be killed in the coup attempt.
First investigation into coup attempt
F-16 jets took off from the Akinci Air Base — used as a command center during the coup bid — and began flying at low altitudes over the capital Ankara.
The first news reports of movement by the forces at the base emerged at 10.28 p.m. local time (1928GMT). TV channels were covering developments as breaking news, reporting that troops were blocking the Bosphorus Bridge and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, both of which span the Istanbul Strait.
