The Turkish military has taken control of media - and forced President Erdogan to make a statement via Apple FaceTime
YouTube/Habertürk TV Canli Yayin
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a statement aired on CNNTurk, via Apple FaceTime on Friday night in response to a "coup" staged by the Turkish Armed Forces.
The "military coup will be thwarted," said Erdogan, appearing on a shaky iPhone screen held by CNNTurk correspondent Hande Firat, adding that the "perpetrators will be punished."
The Turkish military apparently staged a coup on Friday night, deploying military onto the streets of Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey's largest city and capital respectively.
"I call on our people to gather in squares, airports," Erdogan said.
Erdogan making a statement through Facetime. Says the military coup will be thwarted. Perpetrators will be punished. pic.twitter.com/d5dmVfMMV8
- Mahir Zeynalov (@MahirZeynalov) July 15, 2016
"Let them come with their tanks," Erdogan continued. "I am commander in chief in this country. Those who attempted a coup will pay the highest price."
Erdogan also said he couldn't confirm whether the army chief had been taken hostage.
The army has also taken over the state-run television broadcaster TRT in Ankara, multiple sources are reporting. Pictures are surfacing on Twitter purporting to show soldiers inside the station.
Group attempting to stage a coup seizes state broadcaster TRT pic.twitter.com/TK8COT1wZM #Turkey
TRT has gone off the air, reports the BBC. Explosions were heard inside the building, according to multiple reports on Twitter.
This is a developing situation.
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