Defense Minister Adam Shareef Umar has stated that coups cannot be accepted. He made the statement in connection to the attempted military led coup in Turkey.
In a tweet posted early this morning, the Minister said that he "cannot accept a coup from any group", adding that Turkey was suffering. Minister's tweet had come under intense criticism, with some drawing parallels between the events in Turkey and in Maldives on February 7, 2012.
When one user tweeted that the Minister best remained silent on the issue, Minister Adam Shareef said that he "did not encourage that either."
An attempted military coup in Turkey to overthrow its president and government appears to have failed. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed a large crowd in Istanbul on Saturday and condemned the action, saying: “This government brought to power by the people is in charge. They won’t succeed as long as we stand against them by risking everything.”
At least 90 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the clashes, according to the Andalou Agency, a government-affiliated news service. Turkey has detained more than 1,500 military personnel and more are continuing to surrender. Turkey’s Police Chief Celalettin Lekesiz said 16 coup plotters were killed in clashes at a police command. Colonels and generals implicated in the rebellion were fired. Government troops rescued a military chief who had been taken hostage at an airbase.
Turkey's primary opposition parties have denounced the coup, and there are reports that coup soldiers are withdrawing from Istanbul Ataturk Airport after a showing by anti-coup civilians.* Anti-coup protesters also appear to be occupying Istanbul's Taksim Square.
