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| The Bosphorus bridge was blocked off by military units |
An army group in Turkey says it has
taken over the country, with soldiers at strategic points in Istanbul
and jets flying low in the capital, Ankara.
A statement read on TV said a "peace council" now ran the country and there was a curfew and martial law.
It is unclear who the army group is. There are reports some senior army officials have been detained.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would overcome what he called an uprising by a minority.
He
told CNN Turk by mobile phone the action was by a "parallel structure"
that would bring the necessary response. He has used this term in the
past to refer to Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Muslim cleric he accuses of fomenting unrest.
Mr Erdogan called on people to take to the streets to oppose the uprising.
He
said: "I urge the Turkish people to convene at public squares and
airports. I never believed in a power higher than the power of the
people."
Mr Erdogan said he was on his way to Ankara and those involved in the action would pay a heavy price.
PM
Binali Yildirim had earlier denounced an "illegal action" by a military
"group", stressing it was not a coup. He said that the government
remained in charge.
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| Soldiers were deployed in Istanbul's Taksim Square |
The military group's statement on national
broadcaster TRT, read by an announcer, said that democratic and secular
rule of law had been eroded by the current government. There would be
new constitution, it said.
A Turkish presidential source told Reuters news agency that the statement was not authorised by the army's command.
There are reports Turkey's top general, General Hulusi Akar, is among those taken hostage at the military HQ.
Mr
Yildirim told NTV by telephone: "There was an illegal act by a group
within the military that was acting out of the chain of military
command. Our people should know that we will not allow any activity that
would harm democracy."
Traffic has been stopped from crossing both the Bosphorus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges in Istanbul.
There
are reports of gunshots and at least one loud explosion in the capital
Ankara. Other reports said soldiers were inside buildings of the Turkish
state broadcaster in Ankara.
Gunfire was also heard outside
Istanbul police HQ and tanks are said to be stationed outside Istanbul
airport. All flights are cancelled, reports say.
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| Police were standing guard outside the Turkish military HQ in Ankara |
One European
Union source told Reuters that the military action "looks like a
relatively well-orchestrated coup by a substantial body of the military,
not just a few colonels".
Visiting Moscow, US Secretary of State John Kerry said he hoped for peace and "continuity" in Turkey.
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