MILITARY COUP IN TURKEY?

In case the world wasn’t already in enough turmoil…

…it appears that the Turkish military is either trying to overthrow the Erdogan government, or has succeeded in doing so.

Information is obviously sketchy right now, but we have this, excerpted from Selcan Hacaoglu’s article at bloomberg.com:

Turkey’s army says it seized power in the country as warplanes flew over the capital and tanks blocked roads in Istanbul. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said his government is still in control and will resist.

The army said in an e-mailed statement that it took power to restore freedom and democracy. It said all international agreements will be honored.

The coup effort won’t be permitted to succeed, Yildirim told NTV television. He said army units have besieged “some institutions,” and he said police — traditionally closer to his government than the army — have been ordered to use arms if necessary. He said the elected government remains in power.

I’ll add more as it becomes available.

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UPDATE:  London’s Daily Mirror is reporting that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has spent years trying (with considerable success) to turn Turkey into a non-secular Islamic state, has fled the country.

If that is true – and let’s remember that it is NOT yet confirmed – it doesn’t much matter what Prime Minister Yildirim says.  This government is over.

But….let’s wait and see.  If there’s one thing we learn and relearn, it is that initial reports and eventual reality are not always dance partners.

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FURTHER UPDATE:  Erdogan, from an undisclosed location, says he is still in charge.  The military says it has completely taken over.  I assume you don’t need me to tell you one, or both, of them must be wrong.