Politics

White House Backs Erdogan In Turkish Coup Attempt

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The White House issued a readout of President Barack Obama’s call with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, calling for all parties in Turkey to respect the democratically elected government of President Recep Erdogan.

The Turkish military began an attempted military coup against Erdogan late Friday. Erdogan is reportedly safe but his location is unknown. The military has declared a “peace council,” which will now be responsible for the government of Turkey.

Turkey is a major ally in the U.S. effort against the Islamic State and a founding member of the NATO alliance. The U.S. has hundreds of troops based in Incirlik, which is a launching point for U.S. aircraft heading to bomb ISIS in Syria.

Sen. Dan Coates of Indiana echoed U.S. concerns saying he was thinking of all “American military personnel in that country.”

Turkish streets have erupted in gunfire and protest as warring factions battle for control of the country. Istanbul’s major international airport was shut down and the tarmac stormed by protestors.

Major Turkish cities Ankara and Istanbul are seeing outright war break out on their streets.

Video has surfaced on twitter of a helicopter exchanging gunfire from the ground in Ankara.

WATCH:

Crazy footage coming from #Ankara pic.twitter.com/NrxRTW0wX6

— Michael Horowitz (@michaelh992) July 15, 2016

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