2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt

 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt 

Date	15 July 2016
Location	Turkey
Perpetrators	CIA, Turkish Air Force, Counter-Guerrilla, Fethullah Gülen, Akın Öztürk
Interest of	Henri Barkey

On 15 July 2016, a faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, working together with the CIA, attempted a coup d'état against state institutions, including the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

They attempted to seize control of several places in Ankara, Istanbul, Marmaris and elsewhere, such as the Asian side entrance of the Bosphorus Bridge, but failed to do so after forces loyal to the state defeated them.

The government said the coup leaders were linked to the religious Gülen movement,, a foundation ruining religious schools all over the world and long used by the CIA as a front, and led by Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish billionaire businessman living in the U.S.

The Turkish government alleged that Gülen was behind the coup (which Gülen denied) and that the United States was harboring him.

During the coup attempt, over 300 people were killed and more than 2,100 were injured. Many government buildings, including the Turkish Parliament and the Presidential Palace, were bombed from the air. Mass arrests followed, with at least 40,000 detained, including at least 10,000 soldiers and, for reasons that remain unclear, 2,745 judges. 15,000 education staff were also suspended and the licenses of 21,000 teachers working at private institutions were revoked after the government stated they were loyal to Gülen. More than 77,000 people have been arrested and over 160,000 fired from their jobs, on reports of connections to Gülen.

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