Action was due to begin in Black Sea city Samsun on July 30, but FIBA has acted after the country was rocked by a failed coup attempt.

Turkish Armed Forces unsuccessfully attempted to seize control of several key places in cities such as capital Ankara and Istanbul.

They were unsuccessful after forces loyal to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintained social order within 48 hours.

The Government said that 312 people were killed in the coup, including 145 civilians, 60 police, three soldiers and 104 plotters.

Thousands of arrests have been made with tensions remaining high amid various rallies and protests.

"The FIBA Europe Executive Committee has decided to postpone indefinitely the FIBA Under-18 European Championship 2016 which was due to take place in Samsun," a statement said.

"The Committee took into consideration the current situation in Turkey and correspondence it has received by several National Federations, expressing their deep concerns about participating in the tournament, following apprehension from the parents of the players, who are still minors.

"The Committee has also reiterated its support to the Turkish Basketball Federation who has repeatedly, as well as on this occasion, shown a great degree of competence and excellent organisational skills."

The Secretariat of FIBA Europe have now been tasked with exploring options for the re-location of the tournament.

It could be played at the end of this year or in the early stages of 2017 at the latest.

The eligibility of current national team members, who may be above age limits by then, will not be affected.

The tournament was due to draw to a close on August 7.

Hosts Turkey, who also held the annual event in 2014 in Konya, were due to be welcome 15 other countries.

They are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

Greece are the defending champions after winning in 2015 on home soil in Volos.

Samsun is currently hosting the World Deaf Championships which are going ahead as planned.