State of emergency declared in Turkey as crackdown continues

Turkey's president declared a three-month state of emergency as authorities round up suspects accused of staging Friday's failed military coup.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to rid the military of the "virus" of subversion, and handed the government sweeping new powers to expand the crackdown, which has already seen thousands arrested.

Erdogan said the nationwide measure would allow Turkey to be cleared of "terrorists" linked to US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.

The religious leader is accused of masterminding the failed coup against the president from his leafy compound in Pennsylvania.

"The purpose of the declaration of the state of emergency is, in fact, to be able to take the most efficient steps in order to remove this threat as soon as possible," Erdogan said at the presidential palace in Ankara.

He vowed that work would now continue "to fight to clean out all those viruses from the armed forces".

"We have never made compromises on democracy, and we will never make [them]," he added.

The state of emergency in Turkey - the first in one and a half decades - officially entered into force on Thursday morning.

The state of emergency in Turkey, the first in one and a half decades, officially entered into force on Thursday morning.

Turkey has witnessed an extraordinary crackdown following last week's attempted coup in a campaign to root out alleged supporters of the US-based preacher blamed for the failed insurrection.

Authorities arrested soldiers, judges, prosecutors and lawyers as over 20,000 people in state education and a similar number in the private sector were stripped of their licences, sacked or detained.

Turkish authorities also revoked the press credentials of 34 journalists due to alleged ties to Fethullah Gulen.

Read Also: Erdogan considers death penalty for coup plotters

Mind your own business

Under fire from all sides, Erdogan has also lashed out at critics of the sweeping purge.

During an interview with al-Jazeera Erdogan said that France's Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault had warned him not to use the failed coup as a "blank cheque" to silence his opponents. His message to the French minister was to "mind his own business."

"Does he have the authority to make these declarations about my person? No, he does not. If he wants a lesson in democracy, he can very easily get a lesson in democracy from us," Erdogan told al-Jazeera.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier stressed it was "vital that the state of emergency is limited for the required time and then immediately lifted".

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"Only acts which are legally punishable can be targeted, not political opinion."

US Secretary of State John Kerry - flanked by allied foreign ministers - said that while "we condemn this coup", it was important that the response to it "fully respects that democracy that we are supporting".

Turkey has stepped up pressure on Washington to extradite Gulen, sending several "dossiers" it says are packed with evidence about his alleged involvement.

Gulen has urged Washington to reject the extradition call and dismissed as "ridiculous" the claim he was behind the botched coup.

Erdogan, asked if other countries could have been involved in the coup, told Al-Jazeera: "There could be."

"The Gulen organisation has another superior mind, if you will, and the time will come when those connections will be deciphered."

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

Agencies contributed to this report.