Türkiye go mark Wednesday the 10th anniversary of the July 15, 2016 failed coup attempt wey members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) carry out, wey kill 253 people and wey dey try overthrow the country’s democratically elected government.

Dem present themselves as religious movement but dem don infiltrate state institutions, including the Turkish Armed Forces. After years of secret organisation inside state, FETO try seize power through military coup.

Before the coup, the group do different operations against the government, like try to summon then-National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan for questioning, the December 17-25 investigations, and the interception of MIT trucks.

After the Justice and Development (AK) Party win the November 1, 2015 elections, and as dem dey expect say FETO-linked officers go dey removed by decisions from the Supreme Military Council, the organisation speed up im coup plans.

FETO ringleader Fetullah Gulen call on members of the organisation wey dey inside the military to do coup during one televised appearance on March 19, 2016.

Senior civilian and military members later finalise preparations through meetings wey dem hold for Türkiye and the US, where Adil Oksuz and Kemal Batmaz present plan to Gulen before dem return to Türkiye days before the coup.

Coup plot uncovered hours before launch

Hours before the planned coup, one major wey dey serve for the Army Aviation Command tell MIT say FETO members dey plan to detain Fidan. That information reach then-Deputy Chief of the General Staff, General Yasar Guler, wey tell then-Chief of the General Staff Hulusi Akar.

Akar order make military aircraft return to their bases, close the airspace and tell commanders make dem restrict military movements. After dem discover say their plan don leak, the plotters bring forward the coup from the planned start time of 3:00am on July 16 to 8:30pm on July 15.

Military vehicles deploy for different parts of Ankara as coup plotters occupy strategic sites and issue martial law orders. Staff Sgt. Bulent Aydin become the first person wey dem kill during the coup after dem shoot am for the General Staff Headquarters.

F-16 fighter jets fly low over Ankara while soldiers block the then Bosphorus Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge for Istanbul. Then-Prime Minister Binali Yildirim talk say the government still dey office as prosecutors start criminal investigation.

Public resistance turns the tide

FETO terrorists bomb the Police Aviation Department and the Special Operations Department for Golbasi, Ankara, attack the MIT compound for Yenimahalle and seize state broadcaster TRT, force staff make dem read the coup declaration.

At 12:24 am on July 16, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appear live for CNN Turk and call on people make dem go out for street. Thousands answer the call and confront coup forces for many parts of the country despite repeated attacks.

Staff Sgt. Omer Halisdemir, on orders from Special Forces Commander Lt. Gen. Zekai Aksakalli, shoot coup Brig. Gen. Semih Terzi when Terzi come to seize the Special Forces Command. Halisdemir immediately kill by the FETO terrorists wey accompany Terzi.

The coup plotters still bomb the Turkish Grand National Assembly two times and attack TURKSAT facilities, while police regain control of TRT and detain the people wey occupy the broadcaster.

The violence continue into the morning before security forces regain full control. Then-Prime Minister Yildirim give authorisation to Lt. Gen. Ziya Kemal Kadioglu to shoot down aircraft wey the coup plotters dey control.

Akar rescue from Akinci Air Base and, on Erdogan’s instructions, the base main runway get strike to prevent more take-offs.

At 12:57 pm on July 16, Yildirim announce say the coup attempt don suppress. The plot fail within about 21 hours because of public resistance and the actions of security forces wey remain loyal.

Official figures show say 253 civilians and security personnel die. The coup plotters deploy about 9,000 military personnel, 35 aircraft, 37 helicopters, 246 armoured vehicles including 74 tanks, and nearly 4,000 light weapons.

Gulen’s role and aftermath

According to Turkish authorities, Gulen wey start the organisation back in the 1960s and flee to the US in 1999, direct the July 15 coup attempt and other operations from Pennsylvania.

Even though Türkiye submit seven extradition requests wey cover 27 charges, US authorities no extradite am.

Gulen die on October 20, 2024, for St. Luke’s Hospital’s Monroe campus in Pennsylvania. Turkish authorities talk say the US Department of State officially confirm im death with formal document.