| This is the alleged coup plot, as described by anonymous government sources. It doesn't seem realistic to me, but I am not qualified to judge. What say you, dear Reader? |
[Hurriyet] According to ranking official sources in Ankara who did not want to be named, the plan included carrying some 5,000 gendarmerie commandos to the capital in order to take control of key state facilities in the attempt to overthrow the government. The plan had three phases, as confirmed by sources. The first phase was to fly C-130 transport planes from military airports in Malatya, Kayseri and Ankara to the southeastern town of Sirnak, which borders both Syria and Iraq. It is a region where one of the most intensified anti-terror fights against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is being carried out, and where gendarmerie commandos play an important role.
The second phase was to form an air bridge between Sirnak and Ankara’s Eitmesgut base to transport the commandos on fake orders, as the orders were from the Gendarmerie General Command in Ankara, whose chief, Gen. Galip Mendi, was to be seized by the coup plotters.
The third phase was to transport the commandos to key positions in Ankara, like the parliament building, the presidential compound, the prime minister’s office and the headquarters of the chief of general staff, the Interior Ministry, the National Intelligence agency (MIT) and the police special forces, as well as the Turkish satellite ground station, which is a key node in the country’s telecommunications network. |