Erdogan says Turkey's state of emergency won't be lifted until peace achieved

Turkey's President Erdogan said Sunday that the ongoing state of emergency will not be lifted soon until the country achieves peace and welfare, Xinhua.net reports.

At the extraordinary congress of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party which set to return him to the party helm, Recep Tayyip Erdogan cited the 2-year-long state of emergency in France. "A state of emergency was declared in France when 15 terrorists arose. In my country, they tried to overthrow the state, and we gave 249 martyrs, and had 2,193 injured," said Erdogan, stressing "How dare you ask us to lift the state of emergency? It will not be lifted. Until when? Until the situation reaches welfare and peace," he stressed.

Turkey declared a state of emergency on last July 20 after the deadly coup attempt. On April 18, parliament approved to extend the ongoing state of emergency for another three months.