Turkish soldiers unaware they were part of coup

Reports are coming in from Turkey stating that many of the soldiers detained and later interrogated were completely unaware they were complicit in the coup.

“We were told by our commanders where to deploy as part of maneuvers”

“We didn’t realize we were a part of it [the coup] until people started to climb the tanks”

This explains how pro-Erdoğan civilians (nicknamed the People’s Power on social media) were able to halt the deployment of Turkish tanks and APC’s with their bare hands or, in some cases, by laying down on the street.

Once the soldiers realized they were a part of the coup, they simply withdrew or surrendered themselves.

Turkey has mandatory military service for all young men, many of whom are apolitical.