Turkish police clash with anti-ISIL protesters in Istanbul
The Turkish police in the port city of Istanbul have clashed with hundreds of people who were demonstrating to denounce violence and crimes by the ISIL terrorist group.
On Friday, some 500 people turned out for the protest rally in the Kadikoy district of the largest city of Turkey to condemn a recent deadly bombing in Suruc.
The angry protesters lashed out at the Ankara government, who they blame for allowing ISIL militants inside Turkish territory.
Witnesses said that the anti-ISIL rally was largely peaceful until Turkish forces attacked protesters and fired teargas canisters and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds.
Some protesters are said to have been injured during the clashes and scuffles with security forces.
Meanwhile, Istanbul and several other major Turkish cities are bracing for more anti-ISIL protests this weekend.
Thousands are expected to respond to a call by Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party and turn out for a "march for peace" in Istanbul on Sunday.
Turkish authorities are expected to deploy a large number of security personnel to most parts of the city in an attempt to prevent any incident of violence.
The latest protest rally came after a deadly ISIL bomb attack in Suruc, located in southern Turkey near the Syrian border and opposite the Syrian town of Kobani, killed more than 30 people on Monday.
The explosion targeted people from the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations, who had gathered at a cultural center before their journey to Kobani to help in the reconstruction of the war-ravaged town in Syria.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has recently rejected claims that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had not done enough to combat ISIL.
In its most significant actions against the terrorist group, Turkey has reportedly bombed what are claimed to be ISIL targets in Syria and arrested hundreds of militants.
The pledge to confront the ISIL Takfiris comes despite Turkey’s longtime support for the militancy against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with reports showing that Ankara actively trains and arms the Takfiri extremists operating in Syria, and facilitates the safe passage of foreign terrorists into the Arab country.
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