“The power in the country has been seized in its entirety,” said a military statement read on NTV television, without giving further details. The military’s website was not immediately accessible.
It said the move had been made “in order to ensure and restore constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms and let the supremacy law in the country prevail, to restore order which was disrupted”.
“All our international agreements and commitments retain their validity. We hope our good relations will continue with all countries in the world.”
The Turkish military group is calling itself the “Peace at Home Council”.
Television pictures showed tanks deployed outside Ataturk airport in Istanbul. Reports said that flights into the airport had been halted.
In a bizarre Facetime interview broadcast on Turkish TV, president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan denounced the attempt by a “minority” inside the army. “I certainly believe that coup plotters will not succeed,” Mr Erdogan told CNN Turk television.
“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 still president and Turkey’s commander in chief, promising that plotters would pay a “very heavy price”. A presidential source said Erdogan was in a secure location as per government protocol.
MSNBC reported Mr Erdogan was in an airplane that had been refused landing at Istanbul and was now trying to seek asylum in Germany, according to US defence officials.
It is still unclear who is in control of the country.
Shortly after Mr Erdogan’s statement, a strong explosion was heard in the Turkish capital.
Turkish social media users reported military helicopters had fired two missles at the headquarters of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT).
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