Türkiye marks the anniversary of the failed coup attempt now observed as Democracy and National Unity Day. Across the country, people gathered to honour those who gave their lives defending the nation on the 15 July 2016.
Martyrs Memorial Day, known in Türkiye as Democracy and National Unity Day — marked the ninth year since the 2016 failed coup attempt. Across the country, particularly in Istanbul and Ankara, thousands gathered to honour the martyrs and heroes who sacrificed their lives defending their country.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev sent a message to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, expressing solidarity and support.
What happened on 15 July 2016
A large faction within the Turkish Armed Forces, led by exiled Turkish citizen Fetullah Gülen, tried to seize control of the country and overthrow the democratically elected government.
As the night unfolded, tanks rolled into the streets of major cities like Istanbul and Ankara.
Bridges were blocked, fighter jets flew low over urban centres, and key sites such as the Turkish Parliament, police headquarters, and presidential palace were attacked.
Media outlets were also targeted. At TRT, Türkiye's national broadcaster news channel, coup plotters forced a presenter to read a pre-written statement declaring martial law.
But then came a turning point.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, appeared live via FaceTime on CNN Türk and urged citizens to take to the streets and defend their country.
Millions of civilians responded, risking their lives, standing in front of and on top of tanks, disarming soldiers, and confronting the coup directly. Unarmed and determined, people mobilised to defend the nation.
By dawn, the coup attempt had failed. However, the cost was heavy. More than 250 people were killed, and more than 2,000 were wounded. They are remembered today as the martyrs of the 15th of July.
Since then, every 15 July is marked with ceremonies, prayers, and public gatherings across the country. Each year, civilians visit the 15 July Martyrs' Monument in Istanbul and other memorial sites to pay their respects.
Today, Türkiye stands united once more — honouring its martyrs, defending its democracy, and remembering the night when people rose to protect their nation.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday and discussed the situation in Ukraine, including the overnight Ru...
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (3 February) signed a spending deal into law that ends a partial U.S. government shutdown and gives lawmakers t...
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met on Tuesday (February 3) with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar one day after the U.S. and India...
Wall Street ended sharply lower on Tuesday as investors worried about AI creating more competition for software makers, keeping them on edge ahead of ...
Small Cirrus SR 20 crashed in Littleborough, Rochdale, after taking off from Birmingham Airport...
Nasry Asfura, the Conservative National Party candidate backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, leads Honduras' presidential election with 34% of votes counted, according to preliminary results released on Sunday by the country’s electoral authority.
Kyrgyzstan is preparing to hold snap parliamentary elections on Sunday, 30 November 2025, after the Jogorku Kenesh (parliament) dissolved itself in September.
A group of army officers said they had seized power in coup-prone Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday, a day before the planned announcement of results from a hotly contested presidential election.
Georgia’s political leadership has sharply criticised NATO’s long-standing hesitation on memberships, accusing the alliance of 'finger-pointing'.
Heavy snow continued to batter northern and western Japan on Saturday (31 January) leaving cities buried under record levels of snowfall and prompting warnings from authorities. Aomori city in northern Japan recorded 167 centimetres of snow by Friday - the highest January total since 1945.
The United States accused Cuba of interfering with the work of its top diplomat in Havana on Sunday (1 February) after small groups of Cubans jeered at him during meetings with residents and church representatives.
Talks with the U.S. should be pursued to secure national interests as long as "threats and unreasonable expectations" are avoided, President Masoud Pezeshkian posted on X on Tuesday (3 February).
Early voting for Thailand’s parliamentary elections began on Sunday (1 February), with more than two million eligible voters casting ballots nationwide ahead of the 8 February general election, as authorities acknowledged errors and irregularities at some polling stations.
At least 12 people were killed and seven wounded after a Russian drone struck a bus carrying miners in Ukraine's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, government officials said on Sunday (1 February).
The U.S. military says an F-35 shot down an Iranian drone that approached the Abraham Lincoln carrier in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, in an incident reported by Reuters.
Türkiye’s defence and aerospace exports surged by 44 percent year on year in January 2026, hitting a record monthly high of more than $555 million as overseas demand for Turkish-built military technology continued to grow, the Turkish Defence Industries Secretariat said on Monday (2 February).
Kazakhstan sharply increased oil shipments to Europe in January, exporting 310,000 tonnes to Germany and sending a further 106,000 tonnes via the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.
Kazakhstan has approved plans for a second nuclear power plant in a significant scaling up of the country's nuclear ambitions. It comes a year after a referendum, which suggested more than 71 per cent support for the project, but which was also accompanied by allegations of irregularities.
Armed boats tried to intercept a vessel north of Oman on Tuesday in waters near the Strait of Hormuz, where heightened military activity and U.S.–Iran tensions are fuelling maritime security concerns.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment