"Please do not mix up these villains with honor[able] and devoted members of the Turkish Armed Forces, they are the apple of our eye, and our Armed Forces and our police department worked tremendously hard and strived to ensure that Turkey is kept safe and sound," Yildirim said in a televised address.
He argued that the coup plotters "should be seen as villains and members of terrorist organizations presenting themselves as pseudo-soldiers."
"During this coup attempt we realized one other thing: even though this coup attempt was initiated within the sections of the Turkish Armed Forces, the perpetrators should not be ever mixed up or related to the devoted members of the Turkish Armed Forces," the prime minister stressed.
Yildirim extended his gratitude to police, opposition parties and media organizations for withstanding an attempt at disrupting constitutional order in Turkey late Friday and early Saturday.
