At least 700 soldiers surrender to police in Ankara

By Zehra Aydin

ANKARA

Around 700 soldiers surrendered to police in the Turkish capital Ankara on Saturday, a security source said.

The unarmed troops were initially taken from the headquarters of the General Staff to the Turkish Statistical Institute offices before being transferred to the police academy in central Ankara.

At least 150 remain holding out at the HQ, the source said on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

A group of senior soldiers who had been handcuffed after refusing to join the coup attempt were freed following the attempt by a group within the military to overthrow the government on Friday night.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Turks to “go to the squares” in a video message visa mobile telephone that was broadcast on national television.

He accused U.S.-based preacher Fetullah Gulen of being behind the coup and called for him to return to Turkey to face trial.

Around 90 people were martyred and more than 1,000 injured during the coup attempt.