Erdogan Tells West: 'Mind Your Own Business'

Turkey's president has told the EU and US to "mind your own business" after the West expressed concern over the crackdown on alleged coup perpetrators.

There has been a purge of the civil service, military, judiciary and education sectors, and the closure of hundreds of schools and dozens of media outlets.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to take all steps "within the limits of the law" as Turkey seeks legal retribution for those suspected of involvement in the coup.

But he also said he was dropping hundreds of lawsuits against individuals accused of insulting him in what he said was a gesture of goodwill.

Earlier this year, authorities said over 2,000 people were being prosecuted on charges of insulting the president.

Speaking about the post-coup clampdown, Mr Erdogan said: "They say they are worried. Mind your own business! Look at your own deeds."

He complained no senior Western official had visited Turkey in the wake of the coup.

He said: "Not a single person has come to give condolences either from the European Union ... or from the West.

"And then they say that 'Erdogan has got so angry'!

"Those countries or leaders who are not worried about Turkey's democracy, the lives of our people, its future - while being so worried about the fate of the putschists - cannot be our friends."

The president slammed the US, claiming it was not standing firmly against the failed coup in which over 200 people died, as Turkey's ties with key allies become strained.

More than 18,000 people have been detained since the coup attempt and over 3,500 of them have since been released.

Also over 66,000 people in the wider civil service have been suspended from their jobs.

Turkey has demanded America extradites cleric Fethullah Gulen who Ankara suspects of being behind the 15 July plot to overthrow the leader.

Mr Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, has denied any prior knowledge of the coup.

The US has asked Turkey for evidence of his involvement.

And Washington also said the extradition process must take its course.