WarSclerotic

Turkey’s currency has suffered its heaviest fall in two months as investors took fright at a coup by the country’s military, Ben Martin reports.

The lira plunged as much as 3.8pc to 2.9901 against the dollar as money managers took fright at reports Turkey’s army had taken control of Ankara, the capital.

US Treasuries, a classic safe-haven investment, were in demand on Friday evening, with yields on American debt falling four basis points to 1.552pc. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

Timothy Ghriskey, of Solaris Asset Management, told Bloomberg: “The financial markets react very quickly to headlines like these, and it’s all about reducing risk.”

All flights from Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport have been cancelled, a Reuters witness said on Friday, citing a pilot, after the military said it had taken control of the government.

Reports on Turkish state news agency that the country’s top general ‘held hostage’ at military HQ.

Dorian Jones a British journalist based in Istanbul said:

“Tanks are seen in the streets. There are reports of clashes between the police and the army,” he told Sky News, adding there were also reports that police guarding the presidential palace had been disarmed.

“I have been speaking to various friends across the city, some are reporting that they are hearing gunfire in the streets.”

In a statement, the Turkish military says the rule of law must remain the priority.

“The power in the country has been seized in its entirety,” said the military statement read on NTV television, without giving further details. The military’s website was not immediately accessible.

State TV TRT reportedly off the air.

Gabriel Turner, 23, a management consultant from north London, is on holiday in Istanbul and described how there had been heavy police and security presence throughout the day before the military coup got underway after sunset.

He told The Telegraph:

“Earlier today there were police everywhere. I thought that was normal but the two Turkish girls I was with told me  it wasn’t normal. We were walking around the centre of Istanbul, at the Grand Bazaar there were police at every entrance and exit with lots of guns.

“A police helicopter was flying very low  at sunset, it was about 8pm. It looked like it was searching for something. Later on, at about 10.30 I was in Karakoy, a bar area in the city centre and everyone started looking at their phones. A man who owns the bar told us that the army are taking over everything.

“Then we walked down towards the a quieter area by the sea. While we were walking, my friend said the army had closed brides across the Bosphorus. We could see army helicopters in the sky.

“We went inside a cafe and everyone was on their phones looking worried, texting. Lots of people were running to catch a ferry – because the bridges were shutting and people wanted to get home. Then policemen came out of the ferries on their walkie talkies, looking very alert.”

Lots of flight delays:

Yildirim says “it would be wrong to call it a coup” but that there has been an attempt by “part of the military”.

He describes it as an “illegal attempt” to seize power.

Turkey would never allow any “initiative that would interrupt democracy”, he said, and promised the perpetrators “will pay the highest price”.

Binali Yildirim has called for calm.

The Bosphorus and Fatih bridges were closed by the gendarmerie – a branch of the Turkish military dedicated to internal security – for traffic travelling from Asia to Europe, NTV television said. Traffic was still moving in the other direction.

Meanwhile, Turkish military aircraft were heard flying low over Ankara, AFP correspondents in the capital also reported. There was no immediate explanation for the cause of the incidents.

All unconfirmed at this stage.

Gunshots were heard in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Friday, a Reuters witness said, as military jets and helicopters were seen flying overhead.

Reuters witnesses in Istanbul, Turkey’s biggest city, also spotted helicopters overhead.

Broadcaster NTV reported that both of Istanbul’s bridges across the Bosphorus, the strait separating the European and Asian sides of the city, had been closed to traffic.

It was not immediately clear if the events were related.

More to follow