Erdogan said Turkey could consider reinstating the death penalty following the putsch bid, despite concerns in the international community.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag said around 6,000 people had been detained in “clean-up operations” and warned that the number would rise.

They include senior army commanders, top judges, prosecutors and a military aide to Erdogan.

A resurgent Erdogan raised the prospect of bringing back capital punishment, which was abolished in 2004 as the country sought to improve its chances of joining the EU.

“In democracies, decisions are made based on what the people say. I think our government will speak with the opposition and come to a decision,” he said, reacting to crowds in Istanbul calling for the death penalty.

“We cannot delay this anymore because in this country, those who launch a coup will have to pay the price for it,” he told supporters.

Earlier he told a crowd of thousands at a funeral for the victims in Istanbul there would be no let-up in the fight against his sworn enemy Fethullah Gulen, the US-based Islamic preacher he accuses of masterminding the coup plot.

“We will continue to clean the virus from all state bodies because this virus has spread. Unfortunately like a cancer, this virus has enveloped the state,” he said.

More than 290 people were killed during the coup bid, including over 100 putschists, the foreign ministry said late Sunday, raising the toll from an earlier figure of 265 dead.

In a sign of still-simmering tensions, clashes briefly erupted at an air base in the central city of Konya between security forces and putschists trying to evade arrest, while at Istanbul’s second airport Sabiha Gokcen, police fired warning shots at rebel troops who later surrendered, a Turkish official told AFP.

Turkish authorities have made clear they will show no mercy in the wake of the coup, which sparked fears of chaos in the strategic NATO country of 80 million people.

It was the biggest challenge to Erdogan’s rule in his 13 years as prime minister and president.

The group behind the putsch, which called itself the Council for Peace in the Homeland, said it was necessary to stop the increasingly authoritarian president from undermining Turkish democracy.

Critics at home and abroad had voiced mounting concern over the state of democracy and freedom of speech under Erdogan.

But the 62-year-old leader successfully mobilised supporters into the streets to face down the plotters.

Thousands again responded late Saturday to Erdogan’s call to pour into the streets and celebrate the “victory of democracy”, with mass rallies of flag-waving Turks in cities including Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir.

“They may have tanks but we have our faith. We will not leave the squares… but we will continue defiantly,” said Erdogan.

Air force brigadier general Bekir Ercan Van was also detained at the key Incirlik air base used by US forces for raids in Syria, along with a dozen lower-ranked officers.

But the crackdown is not restricted to the military, and Anadolu said warrants have been issued for 2,745 judges and prosecutors.

(Feature Image Source: AFP)