The siege is over in Turkey, President Erdogan retains control of power

After about over 12 hours of siege following the face off between troops and citizens loyal to the incumbent government of Erdogan and troops sympathetic to the coup plotters, normalcy has been restored.

In what was a bold step to oust the democratically elected President Erdogan of Turkey who critics have accused of autocracy, the resilience of the people helped foil the attempt. The President was forced to relate with the citizens through a Facetime phone broadcast by CNN Turk by which he called on the people to go into the streets to defend their democracy. The coup plotters had already seized the TRT channel, a state-run tv station and had blocked twitter traffic into the country. However, the people heeded to the President's clarion call despite his unavoidable absence in Istanbul.

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Although the coup was apparently foiled, there were recorded fatalities numbering as of last count about 60 persons. Apart from a possible collateral damage, a fighter jet possibly controlled by the rebel faction of the Armed Forces was shot down by troops loyal to the incumbent President.  

Although vacationing at the Mediterranean resort town of Marmaris, the President made a prompt return to Istanbul where he addressed his supporters, and referred to the coup plotters as "minority within the military," who would pay a "heavy price" for the "treason". Apparently the coup plotters did not have the support of the leading opposition leaders and some top military officers as they came out to condemn the attempted coup. 

According to the First Army Commander General Umit Guler, "the armed forces do not support this movement comprised of a small group within our ranks". Also the leader of the Republican People's Party (C.H.P) issued a statement stating that "it should be known that the C.H.P fully depends on the free will of the people as indispensable of our parliamentary democracy".

Meanwhile President Erdogan has blamed the attempted coup on self exiled Fethullah Gulen, a muslim cleric based in the Pennsylvania United States.  In a media address at Istanbul Airport, the President directly addressed Gulen when he stated thus:

"Now I’m addressing those in Pennsylvania. The betrayal you have shown to this nation and to this community, that’s enough. If you have the courage, come back to your country. If you can. You will not have the means to turn this country into a mess from where you are."

Fethullah Gulen has however distanced himself from the coup by posting a statement on his website denouncing the coup. "I condemn in the strongest terms, the attempted military coup in Turkey," he said.

It therefore remains a mystery waiting to be unraveled which faction was the clique in the military working for, while some shots are still being sparsely fired in Ankara and Istanbul. However, about 754 security forces have been detained in connection with the foiled coup.