In Pictures

Gallery|Turkey Attempted Coup

Erdogan supporters on the streets of Turkey

Crowds carrying Turkish flags streamed into Ankara’s Kizilay Square and Taksim Square in Istanbul in support of Erdogan.

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Supporters of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend a pro-government demonstration at Taksim Square in Istanbul. [Ammar Awad/Reuters]
Published On 18 Jul 2016

Tens of thousands of demonstrators came out on the streets of Turkey’s capital Ankara and other cities to show support for the President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On Sunday he told crowds of supporters, called to the streets by the government and by mosques across the country, that parliament must consider their demands to apply the death penalty for the plotters.

“We cannot ignore this demand,” he told a chanting crowd outside his house in Istanbul late on Sunday. “In democracies, whatever the people say has to happen.”

He called on Turks to stay on the streets throughout the week, and late into Sunday night his supporters thronged squares and streets, honking horns and waving flags.

Turkey gave up the death penalty in 2004 as part of a programme of reforms required to become a candidate to join the EU. Germany said on Monday that Turkey would lose its EU status if it reinstated the death penalty.

Yildirim said Turkey should not act hastily over the death penalty but could not ignore the demands of its people.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan quashed a coup attempt in a night of explosions, air battles and gunfire that left some hundreds of people dead and scores of others wounded on Saturday. [Huseyin Aldemir/Reuters]
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The Turkish government accelerated its crackdown on alleged plotters of the failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. [Petros Giannakouris/AP]
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Speaking on Monday to throngs of government supporters in Kizilay Square, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim thanked the Turkish people for defeating the coup in what he said was a defence of democracy. [Kemal Aslan/Reuters]
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Turkey has suspended nearly 8,000 police across the country, widening a major purge on suspected supporters of a failed army coup aimed at overthrowing the president. [Ammar Awad/Reuters]
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The interior ministry said 8,777 people had been removed from their posts, including 7,899 members of the police and security forces, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Monday. [Huseyin Aldemir/Reuters]
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A Turkish flag hangs on the facade of the damaged building of the police headquarters in Ankara. [Osman Orsal/Reuters]
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A street vendor sells Turkish national flags in Eminonu district in Istanbul. [Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters]
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People chant slogans as they gather at a pro-government rally in central Istanbul's Taksim Square. [Emrah Gurel/AP]
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Giving new figures, Yildirim said on Monday that 208 people were killed by the coup bid, including 145 civilians, 60 police and three soldiers. And 1,491 were wounded, he added. [Chris McGrath/Getty Images]