Witness accounts have raised questions about whether gunmen in civilian vehicles opened fire on crowds during Turkey’s July 15, 2016 coup attempt and whether unofficial armed groups were active on the streets that night.
The accounts refer to black commercial vehicles, including Transporter and Transit vans, that critics say were not part of the Turkish Armed Forces’ standard inventory.
Some witnesses and commentators have questioned whether the vehicles were operated by members of paramilitary groups, including SADAT, a private military consultancy founded by retired Turkish officers and described by critics as close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The allegations, if verified, would raise questions about who fired on civilians during the coup attempt and whether the deaths that night were fully examined through ballistic and forensic investigations.
“I am hearing this for the first time. Shots were fired from black vehicles on the night of the coup attempt. The military does not have these vehicles. SADAT has them,” the social media account Kaç Saat Oldu? wrote on May 31, 2017.
Muteber Ayabak, the mother of Mahir Ayabak, who was killed during the coup attempt, made a similar claim during a program on the pro-government Ülke TV network.
“They were lying in ambush in a black Transit van. There were snipers inside. They were shooting, and my son was killed there,” Ayabak said.
Another account emerged during a live broadcast on Ahsen TV after the coup attempt.
A young man who said he went to the Bosphorus Bridge, where soldiers had blocked traffic, claimed that gunfire came from an area away from the soldiers.
“It was not the side where the soldiers were. On the other side, police opened fire on the people. Two unidentified individuals in a Mini Cooper continuously opened fire on the crowd,” he said.
Critics have cited these accounts in arguing that the role of armed civilians and unofficial groups on the night of the coup attempt was not adequately investigated.
SADAT representatives have previously said they took to the streets during the coup attempt. Critics say reports of gunfire from civilian vehicles at several locations should have prompted an investigation into whether SADAT members or other unofficial armed groups were involved.
Another group cited in this context is Halk Özel Harekat, or People’s Special Operations, a civilian organization that adopted names and imagery resembling those of Turkish security forces.
“Who were the ones shooting at civilians? Was it SADAT? Why was no ballistic investigation conducted?” academic İhsan Yılmaz wrote on May 31, 2017.
