Protests in Istanbul over clashes in southeast Turkey

Police fire tear gas and plastic bullets to disperse crowds

A protester in Istanbul throws a petrol bomb toward police using water cannon and teargas to disperse protests against security operations against Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey. Photograph: AP Photo/Cagdas Erdogan
A protester in Istanbul throws a petrol bomb toward police using water cannon and teargas to disperse protests against security operations against Kurdish rebels in southeastern Turkey. Photograph: AP Photo/Cagdas Erdogan

Armed clashes persisted yesterday across Turkey’s southeast, where an operation by Turkish forces intensified on the sixth day of a campaign that security sources said had resulted in the death of 110 Kurdish militants.

Protests erupted in Istanbul and in Diyarbakir, the biggest city in the country’s southeast, with hundreds demonstrating against the military operations. Police fired tear gas and plastic bullets to disperse the crowds.

Most of the fighting took place in towns near the Iraqi and Syrian borders that have been under curfew for almost a week. –(Reuters)