A year ago, a group of Turkish soldiers using tanks, warplanes and helicopters launched a plot to overthrow Turkey’s President and government. The coup attempt failed, but the fallout continues even a year later.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan swiftly blamed his one-time ally U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is in exile in the U.S. Mr. Gulen denied the allegations that he was behind the coup. The two had a public falling out in 2013, when Mr.Gulen’s organisation was declared a terror organisation and a clampdown began.
On the night the coup unfolded, the events made little sense to those watching. Many turned to the news to make sense of what was happening, while others lined up at stores and ATMs, unsure if the country would function the next day. Istanbul and Ankara residents took cover in their homes as they heard the unusual sound of sonic booms from fighter jets.
Based on reporting from that night, along with information from the state-run Anadolu news agency and the Turkish president’s office, here is an account of how the July 15-16 coup unfolded (all times local)
July 15
10 p.m.
A group of soldiers close off two Istanbul bridges that connect the part of Turkey that’s in Asia to the part that’s in Europe, leading to a Friday night traffic jam and prompting social media speculation about a potential terror attack. Military jets are heard flying over the capital Ankara and shots are fired at army headquarters.
11: 05 p.m.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says in a live televised statement that a group within Turkey’s military is attempting a coup.
July 16
12:13 am
Soldiers aligned with the coup attempt take over the state broadcaster TRT, where anchorwoman Tijen Karas is forced to read a statement announcing the military has seized power from a government “that lost its legitimacy.” The statement cites autocratic rule and increased terrorism. It imposes martial law and curfews.
12: 26 a.m. to 12: 30 a.m.
People begin flowing into the streets across the country to oppose the coup attempt. The Directorate of Religious Affairs instructs mosques to recite a verse, usually read before Friday prayers, to alert and invite Muslims to the streets. Municipal buses and waste haulers barricade army barracks.
1:01 a.m.
Fighter jets and helicopters hit Ankara police headquarters six times, followed by strikes on a police special operations unit and a branch of Turkey’s satellite operator TURKSAT.
2: 32 a.m.
F-16 fighter jets piloted by coup plotters bomb Turkey’s parliament 11 times, forcing members of sparliament who convened for an emergency session to seek shelter in the basement.
3:20 a.m.
President Erdogan lands in Istanbul hours after departing a summer resort in Marmaris where he narrowly escaped capture and possibly an assassination attempt. He is welcomed by thousands of supporters. Earlier, all airports had been closed to aviation traffic and Istanbul’s main airport seized by soldiers and tanks.
4 a.m.
An official investigation is launched and detention warrants issued against alleged coup plotters linked to Mr.Gulen’s network, including members of the judiciary and the military. Suspensions from public service and detentions are already under way.
4: 42 a.m.
A helicopter bombs the Marmaris hotel where Mr.Erdogan had been vacationing and nearly 30 soldiers and commando squads raid the hotel, killing two police officers. Mr.Erdogan had already left.
6:30 a.m.
More than 130 soldiers who occupied the Bosporus Bridge, now called July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge, surrender to police and civilians resisting the coup attempt. Thirty civilians were killed there.
6:43 a.m.
Coup plotters drop bombs around the Presidential Complex in Ankara.
8: 32 a.m.
Chief of Staff Hulusi Akar, who was taken hostage at the outset of the coup attempt, arrives at the Prime Minister’s Office after being rescued.
5 p.m.
Prime Minister Yildirim speaks in an extraordinary parliamentary session, saying Turkish citizens defeated the coup attempt and protected democracy. All four political parties represented in parliament issue a joint statement against the coup.
8:02 p.m.
The government declares the coup attempt “decisively” put down. Millions gather across the country for a “democracy vigil” that goes on every night for nearly a month.
Postcript
Days after the coup attempt, an emboldened Mr.Erdogan declares a state of emergency that remains in place to this day. It has allowed the government to rule by decrees, bypassing parliamentary checks and balances, to bring down Mr.Gulen’s network and other terror groups. Critics have called it a “civilian coup,” institutionalising a clampdown that was already underway.
More than 50,000 people, including a dozen opposition parliamentarians and around 160 journalists, have been arrested. Some 1,00,000 public employees have been fired for suspected links to terror, among them academics, teachers, police and military officers. Judicial and administrative paths for the jailed and purged to defend themselves have been severely curtailed.
To Mr.Erdogan’s chagrin, the U.S. has not extradited Mr.Gulen and some NATO allies have granted asylum to alleged coup plotters. International criticism of the post-coup crackdown is rampant and Mr.Erdogan, more isolated than ever, has further polarised the country, having missed an opportunity to maintain the unity garnered against the coup.
