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Ten years have passed since Turkish people resisted the July 15 coup attempt by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), led by Fetullah Gulen.
When Turkish civilians took to the streets and showed extraordinary courage in confronting coup plotters in tanks and armored vehicles, armed with nothing more than Turkish flags, they made history.
It was a turning point that ultimately changed not only Türkiye’s path but also Syria’s trajectory.
From a Syrian perspective, the night of July 15, 2016, was intense. For many Syrians, it was a moment of shock.
Russia had just intervened almost a year ago and began shaping the battlefield dynamic in favor of the Assad regime.
Syrian rebels were withdrawing across the board, and intensive Russian airpower combined with indiscriminate bombing made life for ordinary civilians intolerable.
The most strategic battle in Syria faced a major setback for rebel forces as the Assad regime, Russia, Iran, and the YPG, and on occasions also Daesh cooperated and successfully cut the main supply line into Aleppo. Daesh was controlling large areas in Syria ranging from Deir el-Zour up to the Turkish border.
But with American air support, the YPG-dominated SDF was advancing and crossed the Euphrates River and was very close to linking up the eastern side and the western side of the Euphrates. If it happened, Syria would likely be divided.
When initial news reached Syrian social media, Telegram and WhatsApp group chats, there was big confusion. Reports coming in were conflicting.
Some spoke about a coup, and immediately after, news made its rounds that Erdogan was captured by the putschists.
Amid the initial reporting from Türkiye, many Syrians tried to reach out to their friends and relatives living in Türkiye, and everyone wondered about the fate of Erdogan.
Regime forces, Iran-backed Shia militias and YPG militants opened celebratory gunfire. They cheered enthusiastically. They cheered enthusiastically. A coup against Erdogan meant the Syrian opposition would be deprived of its main backer, preventing it from achieving its goals.
For Syrian rebels and the Syrian people, it was dark news. Many began thinking how they could survive if putschists took power in Türkiye.
And then, magic happened. Erdogan appeared on Turkish TV via FaceTime. He called the people to the streets, and everything changed.
By sunrise, the Turkish people successfully thwarted the coup attempt.
Now it was time for Syrian rebels to celebrate.
And years later, the Syrians, supported by their neighbors in the north, wrote history themselves by toppling the Assad regime.
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