Police, protesters clash near pro-Kurdish party rally in eastern Turkey
Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds protesting against a rally by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in eastern Turkey Thursday, ahead of weekend parliamentary elections, Reuters reports.
The clashes are the latest in a series of incidents to mar campaigning in the run-up to Sunday's highly charged vote, in which the HDP is hoping to deal a heavy blow to President Tayyip Erdogan's hopes of a more powerful presidency by passing the 10 percent threshold required to enter parliament.
Hundreds of youths, some carrying Turkish flags and some chanting "God is greatest," sought to reach the square in the city of Erzurum, a stronghold of the Islamist-rooted AKP, where HDP co-leader Selahattin Demirtas was speaking, video footage from Dogan news agency showed.
Some protesters pushed down barriers before police forced them back with water cannon just tens of meters from the rally, which was attended by several thousand HDP supporters.
A van decorated with HDP flags was set ablaze and its driver sustained burns before fleeing, Hurriyet reported. It said a police officer suffered a head wound and some protesters were also hurt.
The party is running for parliament for the first time, amid efforts to end a 30-year insurgency by the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).