What Happened in Turkey?
Turkey's failed military coup wasn't in service of democracy — but neither is Erdoğan's countercoup.
On Friday, July 15, at about 10:15 PM, units of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) shut down the two main bridges over the Bosphorus in Istanbul. Others, patrolling on the coastal line, announced that people should leave the streets — a state of emergency was to be declared.
Istanbul’s Atatürk airport was captured and closed by the military, which also began disarming police units in the city. At the same time tanks moved into the capital, Ankara, over which fighter jets were flying low. Heavy shelling and fighting broke out.
The Coup Unfolds
It slowly became clear to everybody that parts of the military were attempting a coup. Yet it took the putschists more than an hour and a half before they made an official statement.
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