Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech at a rally on the "July 15 Martyrs Bridge" in Istanbul, Turkey, on July 15, 2018. Tens of thousands of people on Sunday night marked the second anniversary of the defeated failed coup in 2016 with a mass rally in Istanbul. (Xinhua/DHA/Depo Photos)
ISTANBUL, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of people on Sunday night marked the second anniversary of the defeated failed coup in 2016 with a mass rally in Istanbul.
The commemoration event, known as "Democracy and National Unity Day Meeting," was held on the "July 15 Martyrs Bridge" where 34 people were killed during the heavy clashes between civilians and soldiers on the night of July 15, 2016.
People carried Turkish flags, chanting slogans like, "martyrs do not die, the country is not divided" and "every Turk was born a soldier."
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the rally after holding a symbolic march on the bridge with families and relatives of those killed.
Addressing the crowd, Erdogan said the 2016 coup attempt marks the revival of the Turkish nation.
A total of 250 people were killed across the country during the failed coup before it was foiled hours later, as the Turkish people stood out against the putschists upon the calls of Erdogan.
"Turkey has closed the chapter of coups and it will never reopen again," the president noted.
Ankara accuses the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and his network of masterminding the coup attempt and has been continuously pushing for his extradition from Washington.
