Some 2,839 soldiers, including high-ranking officers, have been arrested after an attempted coup that is now over, says Turkey’s PM Binali Yildirim.
The attempted coup was a “black stain on Turkish democracy”, he said, with 161 civilians killed and 1,440 wounded.
Those held include two army generals, Turkish media say.
Explosions and firing were heard in key cities on Friday night and thousands heeded a call by President Erdogan to rise up against the coup-plotters.
It is unclear who was behind the coup.
The authorities also said 104 suspected coup-plotters had also been killed.
Some 2,745 Turkish judges have also been dismissed in the wake of the coup, state media say.
They are reported to include a member of the country’s top court.
The officials include 140 members of the Supreme Court and 48 members of the Council of State, one of Turkey’s three high courts.
Those arrested included Huduti and Constitutional Court member Alparslan Altan, CNN Turk reported Saturday.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is demanding that the United States arrest or extradite Fethullah Gulen, a cleric and former ally he blames for the failed coup attempt.
Gulen, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania, has denied any connection to the coup attempt and said he condemned it.
He said it was possible the coup was stage-managed by the government to get at critics.
“This country suffered a lot in the hands of the Gulen movement,” Erdogan told supporters.
On Saturday, clothes and weapons belonging to soldiers involved in the coup attempt lie on the ground abandoned on Bosphorus Bridge.
The turmoil exposes deep discontent within the military ranks and a defiant Erdogan has vowed to purge ‘those traitorous elements’.
But less than 24 hours after the attempted putsch, questions remained about who masterminded it and why they decided to act now.
It is believed the commander of Turkey’s 2nd army, Gen. Adem Huduti, has also been arrested.
Turkish military authorities, meanwhile, closed the airspace around Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base — the site Turkey allows the United States to use for operations related to its air campaign against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the Pentagon said in a statement.
“U.S. officials are working with the Turks to resume air operations there as soon as possible,” Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said. “In the meantime, U.S. Central Command is adjusting flight operations in the counter-ISIL campaign to minimize any effects on the campaign.”
American airstrike missions from that location have been halted. Turkish officials told the United States the airspace has been closed until they can make sure all Turkish air force elements are in the hands of pro-government forces, a U.S. defence official told CNN on Saturday.
Still, a small number of U.S. planes on missions before the airspace closed were allowed to land at Incirlik, the official said.
Earlier, the U.S. consulate in Adana reported that power to the base had been cut and authorities were preventing movement on and off the site. The consulate warned U.S. citizens to avoid the area.
Cook said U.S. facilities were operating on internal power sources and the shut down of commercial power has not affected base operations. He said defence department personnel in the area were “safe and secure.”
The base is home to the Turkish Air Force and the U.S. Air Force’s 39th Air Base Wing, which includes about 1,500 American personnel, according to the base website.
Hours earlier, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the situation in Turkey was under control, with military commanders back to work.
“Our nation in this incident has shown a great resilience,” Yildirim said. “Those who have done this uprising should understand this reality that no one can play games with the stability of this country and the love of freedom and democracy.”
Chaos erupted Friday night when military tanks rolled onto the streets of Ankara and Istanbul and soldiers blocked the famous Bosphorus Bridge.
Meanwhile, a Turkish helicopter carrying eight men landed in Greece on Saturday and the men aboard requested political asylum, Greek government spokeswoman Olga Gerovasili said.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in a tweeted requested “the immediate surrender of eight heinous soldiers.”
But Greece will not necessarily return the alleged coup plotters, the Greek foreign minister said Saturday in a statement, which contradicted Cavusoglu’s earlier claim that the officer would be returned.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said “it will be borne very seriously in mind that the arrested parties stand accused in their country of violating constitutional legality and attempting to overthrow democracy.”
The asylum request “will be examined based on the provisions of Greek and international law.”
Gerovasili said the helicopter — which landed at an airport in Alexandroupoli, near the Turkish border — would be returned to Turkey.
While accusing Gulen, Erdogan blamed a “parallel structure” – a reference to Fethullah Gulen, a powerful but reclusive US-based Muslim cleric, whom he accuses of fomenting unrest.
In a televised speech on Saturday night, he called on the U.S. to extradite Gulen.
Gulen has rejected any suggestion of links to what happened, saying he condemned “in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey”.
The attempted coup happened because Turkey is deeply divided over President Erdogan’s project to transform the country and because of the contagion of violence from the war in Syria.
Erdogan and his AK Party have become experts at winning elections, but there have always been doubts about his long-term commitment to democracy. He is a political Islamist who has rejected modern Turkey’s secular heritage. Erdogan has become increasingly authoritarian and is trying to turn himself into a strong executive president.
From the beginning, Erdogan’s government has been deeply involved in the war in Syria, backing Islamist opposition to President Assad. But violence has spread across the border, helping to reignite the fight with the Kurdish PKK, and making Turkey a target for the jihadists who call themselves Islamic State.
That has caused a lot of disquiet. Turkey has faced increasing turmoil and the attempt to overthrow President Erdogan will not be the last of it.
