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:
Follow Saagar Enjeti on Twitter
Send tips to saagar@dailycallernewsfoundation.org
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.