Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says 161 people were killed and 1440 wounded in today's attempted military coup.
An image apparently showing airborne shelling during the coup attempt, near the presidential complex in Ankara. Photo: AFP / ANADOLU AGENCY
A faction of the armed forces has been accused of trying to seize power, after a night of gunfire and explosions in Ankara, Istanbul and elsewhere.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denounced the coup attempt as an "act of treason" and insisted his government remains in charge.
Listen back to RNZ's special broadcast on the coup attempt
In a live televised address shortly before 1pm (10pm NZT) on Saturday, Mr Yildirim also said the situation was now under control and the government's commanders were in charge.
BREAKING Turkish PM Yıldırım says at least 20 coup plotters also killed in #TurkeyCoupAttempt. pic.twitter.com/7x6dTED905
— CNN Türk ENG (@CNNTURK_ENG) July 16, 2016
The number of dead, injured and detained have still not been confirmed.
Mr Yildirim said 161 people were dead, 1440 were wounded and more than 2600 had been arrested. He said at least 20 coup-plotters had been killed, CNN Turk and Reuters reported.
However, acting military chief of staff Gen Umit Dundar had earlier given different figures.
Gen Dundar said 104 coup-plotters had been killed and 1563 arrested. Ninety others had also died and 1154 were injured in the night of violence, he said.
Although the chief of staff had been rescued, several military commanders were still being held hostage, he warned.
He said the coup attempt was mainly by troops from the air force, the gendarmerie and some "armoured elements".
Government forces were reported to still be trying to retake control of armed forces headquarters in the capital, Ankara.
Crowds in the streets on Saturday after a group of soldiers with tanks involved in the coup attempt were neutralised by police in Istanbul. Photo: AFP / ANADOLU AGENCY
Dramatic images showed dozens of rebels walking away from the tanks. Photo: CNN TURK
Events began on Friday evening (Saturday morning NZT) when tanks took up positions on two bridges over the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, blocking it to traffic. Troops were seen on the streets and low-flying military jets were filmed over Ankara.
Shortly after, a faction of the army released a statement saying that a "peace council" was running the country, and there would be a curfew and martial law.
The group said it had launched the coup "to ensure and restore constitutional order, democracy, human rights and freedoms".
It said that the democratic and secular rule of law had been eroded by the current government, and there would be a new constitution.
Mr Erdogan was in the south-west holiday resort of Marmaris at the time. He made a televised address, via his mobile phone, urging people to take to the streets to oppose the uprising.
#Turkish Pres. Erdogan speaking live at Istanbul Ataturk airport now, thanks the public as thousands gathered chant, “say die & we’ll die."
— Emre Peker (@wsjemre) July 16, 2016
He then flew on to Istanbul, saying Marmaris had been bombed after he left.
In a speech at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, Mr Erdogan said: "What is being perpetrated is a treason and a rebellion. They will pay a heavy price."
Outbreaks of violence
The Turkish parliament and presidential buildings in Ankara were attacked. At least one bomb hit the parliament complex in the capital. MPs were believed to be hiding in shelters.
Gunfire was also heard outside Istanbul police headquarters and tanks were said to be stationed outside the Istanbul airport.
PHOTO First pics from attack on Turkish Parliament in #TurkeyCoupAttempt. pic.twitter.com/yMyYud5Rgj
— CNN Türk ENG (@CNNTURK_ENG) July 16, 2016
Journalists at Turkish daily newspaper Hurriyet said they had been forced from their offices in Ankara by rebel soldiers.
Hurriyet is based in the same building as private broadcaster CNN Turk, which had to halt its broadcast after soldiers entered the studio control room.
The newspaper's digital news coordinator tweeted about 1pm NZT that a group of soldiers had raided the paper and taken some journalists hostage.
He said later that the two journalists were fine but "traumatised".
2 journos, who were initially described by police as hostages, are fine, just traumatized. A policeman was injured (not wounded) at Hurriyet
— Emre KIZILKAYA (@ekizilkaya) July 16, 2016
The army's top general and military chief of staff, Hulusi Akar, was reportedly taken hostage by the coup-plotters, and then released.
Many people heeded Mr Erdogan's call and took to the streets to confront the coup-plotters.
Turkish solders intervene as people protest against the coup attempt in Istanbul's Taksim Square. Photo: AFP
People take to the street in Antalya in support of the president. Photo: AFP
There were reports of fierce clashes in Taksim Square in the centre of Istanbul, and gunfire and explosions were heard near the square.
One of the helicopters being flown by rebels was shot down by government troops in Ankara.
Sporadic gunfire was still being reported in some areas by morning.
What is happening now?
The situation is still confused, but Gen Dundar said the coup attempt "has been foiled".
He said 47 civilians, 41 police officers and two soldiers had been killed in the violence, and many commanders were taken to "unknown locations".
About 200 unarmed soldiers had left Turkey's military headquarters in Ankara and surrendered to police, the state-run Anadolu news agency says.
Earlier, dramatic images showed dozens of soldiers walking away from their tanks with their hands up on one of Istanbul's Bosphorus bridges, after they had closed it off to traffic all night.
Members of the public climb on tanks after soldiers occupying one of the bridges over the Bosphorus Strait surrendered in Istanbul. Photo: AFP / ANADOLU AGENCY
Mr Erdogan has blamed a "parallel structure" for the coup attempt, a clear reference to Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Muslim cleric he accuses of fomenting unrest.
However, in a statement, Mr Gulen rejected any suggestion he had links to the events.
"I condemn, in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey," he said.
International reaction
In Washington, US President Barack Obama urged all parties in Turkey to support the "democratically elected government".
NATO, of which Turkey is a member, called for "full respect" for Turkey's democratic institutions.
European Council President Donald Tusk said the country was "a key partner for the European Union" and called for a "swift return to Turkey's constitutional order".
Iran said events in Turkey prove "that a coup d'etat has no place and is doomed to fail in our region".
New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said 235 New Zealanders were registered as being in Turkey, and none were known to have been harmed.
The situation remained fluid and the ministry was advising anyone there to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travel.
The travel advisory for Turkey had been upgraded and the ministry was advising against all non-essential travel there.
- BBC / Reuters / RNZ
