Thomas Mukoya/Reuters
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has landed in Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, after reportedly fleeing the country during a military coup, according to a Turkish official. Erdoğan’s whereabouts were unknown while the coup raged in Istanbul and Ankara. A large crowd gathered at the airport in anticaption of his return. Turkish state officials have told media that the coup is over.
In a speech at the airport, Erdoğan promised retribution against the coup leaders. “This attempted uprising will get its answer from the law and they will be given an answer in the judicial system. They should know that in this country the law will be maintained,” he said. “This is the best answer to these people who have attempted this uprising. Some of them are being arrested.“Turkey won’t be frightened by this kind of uprising and Turkey cannot be governed from Pennsylvania,” he said, referencing rival Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania and whom Erdoğan has blamed for the attempted coup. “The military... will pay for what they did and we will be standing up straight and strong.”