On July 15, 2016, Gülenist terror group (FETÖ) attempted to overthrow Turkey's democratically elected government. As a result of the botched coup, 249 people lost their lives and over 2100 were wounded. Here is a timeline of the failed attempt:
4 p.m.
General Staff members evaluate intelligence about a coup attempt provided by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT).
5:30 p.m.
Certain precautions are taken, airspace is closed, military activity is prohibited and the General Staff inspects the Air Force Aviation Academy.
10 p.m.
Shots are heard inside the General Staff headquarters in Ankara and a helicopter opens fire on the people outside. Soldiers seize the Bosporus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridges and take control of the General Staff headquarters and state broadcaster Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). Following the incident, TRT briefly went off the air.
10:30 p.m.
Putschist tanks roll to Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport.
10:56 p.m.
A group of coup soldiers surround MİT headquarters in Ankara. A helicopter flying over the area opens fire on the building.
11:05 p.m.
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, speaking over the phone to A Haber, describes what is happening as "an insurrection" and states that the perpetrators are a small group in the military.
11:24 p.m.
A blast occurred at the Police Special Forces Training Academy in Gölbaşi. During the attack, 42 police officers were killed in their sleep. The academy was heavily damaged in the attacks.
11:30 p.m.
Coup forces occupied the General Staff building and took Chief of Staff General Gen. Hulusi Akar hostage. Shortly after, clashes erupted between the police and coup forces. People gathered around the General Staff building, which was blocked by military tanks, to protest the coup attempt. Coup soldiers opened fire on civilians and killed many of them. Some 700 unarmed coup soldiers in the General Staff building surrendered to police after it was announced at 8 a.m. that the building was under the control of soldiers loyal to the state.
11:43 p.m.
Coup forces open fire on civilians in Taksim Square, Vatan Avenue and the Bosporus Bridge in Istanbul, and around the headquarters of the General Staff in Ankara.
11:45 p.m.
Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport is closed to air traffic by putchists.
11:50 p.m.
Coup forces surround the Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) provincial organization buildings.
SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2016
12:09 a.m.
Military helicopters open fire on MİT headquarters, and MİT forces return fire.
12:11 a.m.
President Erdoğan leaves Marmaris, in southwest Turkey, for Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport.
12:13 a.m.
Putschist soldiers force TRT anchorwoman Tijen Karaş to read a declaration on live television.
12:26 a.m.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan starts to connect to TV channels over FaceTime on his iPhone and speaks live to the people, telling them to take to the street and defend democracy against the coup plotters.
12:30 a.m.
Turkish citizens flock to the streets in protest of the coup attempt after the call from President Erdoğan as well as calls for unity from mosque minarets in 81 provinces upon the instruction of the Presidency of Religious Affairs.
12:35 a.m.
The first investigation into the coup attempt is launched in Istanbul, with Küçükçekmece Chief Prosecutor Ali Doğan saying coup soldiers would be detained wherever they were found.
12:52 a.m.
First Army Commander Gen. Ümit Dündar comments live on TV saying, "This isn't an act supported by the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK]."
12:57 a.m.
A military helicopter bombs a facility belonging to the Turkish satellite agency TürkSat in Ankara's Gölbaşı district.
1:01 a.m.
Jets and helicopters attack the Ankara Police Department. Defense Minister Fikri Işık says, "This is a coup attempt by a junta in the Turkish Armed Forces."
1:16 a.m.
Tanks surround Parliament in Ankara.
1:39 a.m.
Parliament's General Assembly opens with the attendance of Parliament speaker İsmail Kahraman and deputies.
2 a.m.
Police start to arrest coup soldiers.
2:05 a.m.
F-16 jets shoot down a helicopter used by coup forces in Ankara. Coup soldiers attack the Police Special Forces Training Academy in Gölbaşı, Ankara, killing 42 policemen.
2:30 a.m.
A total of 13 soldiers, including three senior officers, are detained while attempting to take over the Presidential Palace complex in Ankara. A MİT spokesman says the coup has been thwarted.
2:30 a.m.
A helicopter carrying coup plotters attempts to land on the rooftop of the Turkuvaz Media Outlet building but fails due to the satellites on the building. A group of soldiers fire at the fourth and fifth floors of the Turkuvaz Media premises.
2:42 a.m.
Parliament was surrounded by tanks in the early hours of July 16. A military helicopter fired on Parliament at 2:42 a.m. During the assault, 100 deputies had gathered in the General Assembly hall for a live broadcast meeting. Deputies from three political parties sought shelter inside the building. Moments after bombs were heard, they posted pictures on social media showing the damage inside Parliament. The building was bombed 11 times throughout the night.
2:49 a.m.
Parliament is bombed again and the Parliament speaker and deputies take cover in the building's bomb shelter.
2:55 a.m.
Prime Minister Yıldırım, speaking live again over the phone to private broadcaster NTV, compares those attacking institutions with jets to members of a terrorist organization.
3 a.m.
TRT goes back on the air and continues broadcasting. The coup soldiers who tried to seize TRT's head office are arrested.
3:10 a.m.
Prime Minister Yıldırım warns that every military helicopter or jet flying over Ankara and over critical areas such as the MİT headquarters, Parliament, the Prime Ministry or Presidential Palace complex will be shot down.
3:15 a.m.
Gunfire is heard again from General Staff headquarters.
3:20 a.m.
President Erdoğan's plane lands at Atatürk International Airport in Istanbul, and a hoard of people is there to greet him.
3:30 a.m.
A military helicopter attacked the Gölbaşi Ground Station of Türksat in Ankara, the country's leading satellite communications and cable TV operations company that provides satellite telecommunication and operates Turkish communications satellites. Two staff members lost their lives, and three were injured while trying to resist. It was reported later that the helicopter used in the attack on Türksat had crashed.
4 a.m.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office rules on the custody of the members of the coup plotters' Peace at Home Council and those in the judiciary who are affiliated with the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).
4:30 a.m.
President Erdoğan speaks to the media at Atatürk Airport and gives details about the coup attempt.
4:42 a.m.
Helicopters open fire on the hotel in Marmaris where President Erdoğan had been staying before leaving around midnight. Masked soldiers in heavy gear besiege the hotel, injuring five police officers in the ensuing clash.
5:20 a.m.
Prime Minister Yıldırım tweets that 130 soldiers, including high-ranking brass, had been arrested and one putschist general had been killed.
6 a.m.
The Gölbaşı Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launches an investigation into the coup attempt. The area is brought back under control after an attack on the Gölbaşı Special Operations Center kills 42 people.
6:30 a.m.
All streets leading to the Prime Ministry in Çankaya and the ministry's official residences, all of which are located in a security zone, are closed. Loyal Air Force pilots shoot down a military helicopter that bombed the TürkSat facility in Ankara's Gölbaşı district.
6:40 a.m.
50 coup soldiers surrendered on the Bosporus Bridge in Istanbul, which they had held throughout the night. The bridge was one of the first locations secured by coup forces during the initial stages. The soldiers on the bridge surrendered. Dozens of people were killed by snipers, gunshots and tanks. The bridge has been renamed the July 15 Martyrs' Bridge to commemorate the civilians who lost their lives there.
6:43 a.m.
Putschist pilots drop two bombs near the Presidential Palace complex.
7 a.m.
Coup forces in a military helicopter bomb the gendarmerie's headquarters.
8 a.m.
Reuters reports that the General Staff building is under the control of soldiers loyal to the government.
8:30 a.m.
Gen. Akar, who was taken hostage by coup forces, is released.
8:36 a.m.
Gendarmerie General Command is secured by another team of Special Forces.
9:40 a.m.
The Justice Ministry announces that 1,374 Turkish Armed Forces personnel have been detained.
11:45 a.m.
A no-fly zone is declared in the Marmara region, including Istanbul.
11:51 a.m.
A helicopter lands in Greece with seven coup-affiliated soldiers and one civilian seeking asylum.
2:55 p.m.
The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) suspends 2,745 judges.
5 p.m.
Parliament's General Assembly holds an emergency session. All four parties issue a joint declaration condemning the failed coup attempt.
