Events to be held in north to commemorate Turkey coup attempt anniversary

A series of events are to be held in the north over the weekend to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the failed coup d’état which took place in Turkey on July 15, 2016.

The events have all been organised by the Turkish embassy in the north, with a memorial for those who lost their lives defending against the coup attempt to be held at Mia Milia’s Hala Sultan mosque at midday on Saturday.

Another commemorative event will take place on Monday at 9am at the cemetery for fallen Turkish soldiers in the Kyrenia district village of Bogazi, before Turkish ambassador Metin Feyzioglu will give an address on the north’s public broadcaster BRT at 11.30am.

The coup d’état attempt took place on the night of July 15, 2016, with soldiers occupying Istanbul’s Taksim Square, taking over Turkish public broadcaster TRT, and closing Istanbul’s two transcontinental bridges.

The government managed to regain control of the situation through the early hours of the morning of July 16 and the coup eventually failed. The Turkish government declared Muslim scholar Fethullah Gulen to have been responsible.

A total of 179 civilians were killed in the coup attempt, while over 15,000 people were detained in its aftermath.