The coup against the Turkish government has reportedly been put down. It’s almost a day after a faction of the Turkish military attempted to topple the government by closing bridges, sending tanks out in to the street, firing missiles at protestors from helicopters, and arresting a number of officials, including the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. The coup plotters attacked a police station, killing at least 17 police officers. The U.S. press is reporting at least 161 deaths, but the final casualty count is likely to be higher. It’s not clear yet if the death toll includes those killed in the parliament building in Ankara, which the coup plotters bombed.
Some of the officers behind the coup, a handful of generals and dozens of colonels and junior officers, have already been arrested, and conscripts who may not have had any idea of where their orders came from are in custody, too. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calls the coup treason, and his ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) was supported by the other main political groupings—the largest opposition party, the CHP, the far-right MHP, and the Kurdish HDP—which all denounced the coup attempt.
