Thousands of people were arrested and at least 161 killed overnight in Turkey as an attempted military coup came to a chaotic end.

The death toll has been estimated to be as high as 194. A reported 2,389 military officials, including high-ranking officers, were taken into custody after clashing with citizens who had heeded Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan’s call to “stand up” against those he called coup plotters, the BBC reports.

The Judges and Prosecutors High Council also reportedly dismissed 2,745 judges across the country.

The night of conflict began when army tanks began rolling through Istanbul on Friday night, blocking bridges connecting the country’s European and Asian sides. Restaurants and shops shut down as people fled in panic. In the capital city of Ankara, gunshots were reportedly heard as military planes flew low to the ground and tanks opened fire on the parliamentary building.

Erdoğan urged citizens to rise up against the soldiers, which they did. Some clashes ended in mass surrenders, with soldiers raising their hands and leaving their tanks behind on Istanbul’s Bosphorus Bridge as citizens amassed against them. A helicopter with eight of the alleged plotters flew to Alexandroupolis, Greece to seek asylum, although the Greek government said it would return both the aircraft and the personnel on board as soon as possible.

The coup was launched to oust Erdoğan from power over charges that he was “undermining the country’s secular traditions,” according to the Guardian, which is providing live updates here.

The Guardian reports:

Erdoğan has said the plotters would pay a “heavy price” and blamed the coup on the U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen.

Gülen released a statement that condemned the act and “categorically” denied any involvement.