July 15 is a dark stain on Turkish democracy, PM Yıldırım says


Speaking at a press conference outside of Çankaya Palace with the Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ and Interior Minister Efkan Ala beside him, Yıldırım said that the failure of the coup attempt has shown Turkish people's determination to fight for democracy.He said that a total of 161 people have been killed, 1440 people have been wounded by coup soldiers during the failed attempt, and 2,839 pro-coup soldiers were detained on suspicion of involvement in the coup attempt.

He also said 20 pro-coup soldiers had been killed in Friday night's attempt to overthrow the democratically elected government.

According to the Interior Ministry, 1,563 military personnel were arrested across Turkey on Saturday and a number of officers were suspended from duty, including five generals and 29 colonels.

The prime minister said the defeat of Friday's coup was a "feast of our democracy" and sent his condolences to the relatives who lost their lives during coup.All commanders are standing in charge of their duties, Yıldırım said.

The prime minister also underscored that Fethullah Gülen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the U.S. is the leader of the Gülenist Terror Organization.

''Whichever country is behind them is not a friend of Turkey an in a serious war against Turkey'' he said.