Syrian Rebels Say Turks Defeat Conspiracy Against Erdogan

Syrian rebels praised Turks on Saturday for standing firm against a "conspiracy" to overthrow President Tayyip Erdogan, one of the main regional supporters of their fight against President Bashar al-Assad.

"We congratulate the Turkish government...for the victory of the Turkish people and the government they elected," said a statement issued in the name of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

It said the Turkish people had thwarted a "great conspiracy which targeted the stability and security of the country", and had shown the world that their will would not be broken.

The statement was sent to Reuters by Jaysh al-Nasr, a Western-backed faction which is part of the broad FSA umbrella of rebel groups.

Forces loyal to Erdogan's government were fighting on Saturday to crush the remnants of a military coup which crumbled after crowds answered his call to take to the streets and dozens of rebels abandoned their tanks.

First reports of the coup had triggered celebrations in central Damascus and other government-held areas of Syria, with hundreds of people taking to the streets of the capital, cheering and waving Syrian flags.

There was no immediate official response in Syria to the attempted coup in its northern neighbor, but state television had extensive coverage of the overnight turmoil.

The Syrian government has accused Erdogan of fuelling conflict in Syria by supporting Islamist insurgents battling Damascus and allowing foreign jihadis to cross the border from Turkey into Syria.

Syria's civil war, now in its sixth year, began as a peaceful uprising against Assad before developing into a multi-sided conflict that is estimated to have killed several hundred thousand people and spawned an international refugee crisis.

Turkey alone is hosting 2.7 million refugees.

Numerous rebel groups operating under the banner of the Free Syrian Army have received aid via Turkey as part of a program of military support that has also been backed by the United States.

Turkey is also widely believed to have backed Islamist groups such as Ahrar al-Sham, although it has fiercely denied accusations that it has supported the Islamic State group.