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More than 2,000 suspected Turkish coup sympathisers have been arrested in a government clampdown, following the attempted overthrow of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government in 2016, a minister has said.

Thousands of soldiers, police officers and civil servants have been jailed since 2016, allegedly linked to exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen who has been blamed by Ankara for the coup.

Tens of thousands more people have been sacked.

"Out of 287 court cases, 171 have been decided: 2,140 defendants have been given jail terms and 1,478 of them have been acquitted," Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul told state news agency Anadolu.

"I guess the remaining cases will be finalised by the end of 2018," he said.

A crackdown on the Gulen movement - which Ankara has has dubbed the "Fethullah Terrorist Organisation" or FETO.

The trials are taking place in several cities throughout Turkey, following a state of emergency declared two years ago. 

Most countries in the West and human rights groups have criticised the crackdown, which they say is excessive.

Ankara insists the raids are needed to rid Turkey of Gulen supporters who might try to topple the government again.