Turkey coup: Erdogan announces state of emergency after failed rebellion

The president announced a three-month state of emergency in Turkey
Reuters/Umit Bektas
Jamie Bullen20 July 2016

Turkey's president has declared a three-month state of emergency following a failed coup.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the measure is being taken to counter threats to Turkish democracy and insisted it wasn't intended to curb basic freedoms.

It comes five days after an insurrection was launched by some military units before it was eventually quashed by loyalist protesters and security forces.

Erdogan says the pro-government death toll in the botched coup was 246.

Tonight in a speech in Ankara, he praised those who were killed fighting the rebels as “martyrs”. He said the nation would "never forget the bravery and sacrifice of those who lost their lives"

The president’s decision came following a meeting with his Cabinet ministers and top security advisers.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Turkish government said it will close more than 600 private schools and dormitories in response to the failed coup.

Nearly 22,000 workers, mostly teachers, have been fired in a campaign to root out supporters of the rebellion.

The education ministry said the schools were under investigation for "crimes against the constitutional order and the running of that order," the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

The agency said the schools are linked to cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania.

He has previously denied accusations he engineered the coup attempt last Friday night.

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