On the anniversary of the July 15 coup attempt of 2016, the resistance of Istanbul is remembered when Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) members tried to occupy important points in the megacity but were stopped by the struggle of patriots.
During the night of the coup attempt, Istanbul had become one of the most bloody locations, with 100 people being martyred and many injured in the process.
The name of the Bosporus Bridge, where 34 people had lost their lives, was changed to the July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge following that night. The coup attempt in Istanbul, in which five police officers, three soldiers and 92 civilians lost their lives, and the images of citizens stopping FETÖ members at critical points in the city were not forgotten.
FETÖ on that day recruited over 8,000 military personnel, who had infiltrated into the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). They took over thirty-five planes, including fighter jets, three vessels, 37 helicopters, 246 armored vehicles – 74 of which were tanks, and around 4,000 light weapons, according to Anadolu Agency (AA).
During the coup preparation process, 17 putschist officers held coup meetings at the Gen. Nurettin Baransel Barracks in Maltepe on July 12-15, and the operations and shipments in Istanbul were carried out based on the decisions taken at these meetings. Then-Col. Muzaffer Düzenli, who came to Istanbul from Ankara to lead the meetings, gave the soldiers the order to shoot anyone who resists.
The FETÖ soldiers, who began their attempt from the Kuleli Military School command, closed the July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge to traffic from the Anatolian side. This act drew the attention of the media and broadcasts started.
Planes under the command of the coup plotters flew low over the city, using sonic booms to scare people and prevent them from leaving.
The prime minister of that time, Binali Yıldırım, described the events as an “insurrection” and said that a group of soldiers from the army attempted a coup at around 11:10 p.m.
About an hour later, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appeared on TV and called on the people to move to the streets and resist the coup attempt.
Following the call, citizens from all age groups and every district of the city rushed to areas including Erdoğan’s residence in Kısıklı, Atatürk Airport, the Metropolitan Municipality, the Provincial Police Department and Taksim Square, carrying flags.
Yet, FETÖ soldiers opened fire on thousands of people who had gathered on the Bosporus Bridge, killing 34. Another two people were killed at the Anatolian Side entrance of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, while a citizen was crushed by a tank near the Ümraniye Çakmak Bridge.
Police resisted the call to surrender of 58 soldiers, 17 of whom were rank-and-file soldiers, who set out from the 66th Mechanized Infantry Brigade Command at the Sultangazi Baştabya Barracks to seize the Rapid Response Force Branch Headquarters in Bayrampaşa.
The coup plotters were repelled by the people who came to support them, resulting in the death of one citizen and the wounding of 16 others.
Some 67 FETÖ soldiers who came to the Vatan police directorate were also unsuccessful.
The terrorist members further killed 14 people in front of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) in Saraçhane district. Meanwhile, 90 FETÖ soldiers invaded the Istanbul governorate. Twenty-four coup plotters who set out from the Metris Barracks with two tanks to support the soldiers at the governor’s office were stopped by the police and the public near the Golden Horn.
Another one of the coup plotters’ targets was the IBB’s Disaster Coordination Center (AKOM), which houses nearly 3,000 cameras. To seize the facility, soldiers from the 6th Motorized Infantry Regiment at Hasdal Barracks attempted to access the server rooms, disrupting the system and disabling the cameras and monitors. Six people were injured when fire was opened on the citizens surrounding the building.
Putschist soldiers arriving at the Acıbadem Türk Telekom Regional Directorate blocked traffic and tried to clear out the crowd. The putschists, who targeted the resisters, killed seven people.
Two other important scenes were Erdoğan’s house in Üsküdar, where thousands of citizens rushed to, and the TRT Ulus building. FETÖ invaded the TRT Ulus building, telling the security personnel that “there is a terror threat and the building must be emptied. They similarly targeted TRT’s office in the Harbiye district, where three people were killed and 50 others wounded.
At around 6 a.m., Istanbul Governor Vasip Şahin announced on a television channel that the treacherous coup attempt by FETÖ in Istanbul and Ankara had been thwarted, saying, “The state is in control of the situation.”
The putschist soldiers who had set up barricades on the July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge surrendered at 6:42 a.m.
The events in Istanbul during the coup attempt, which claimed the lives of 100 people, including those who died on the night of July 15 and those who died later, constituted a key point in the treacherous uprising.
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