Turkish Protesters, Police Clash over Threats against Opposition Chief
Turkish police on Thursday fired rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Istanbul to protest against threats made to the head of the main opposition party.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who heads the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), had a live bullet thrown at him on Wednesday when he attended funerals for the victims of an attack in Istanbul blamed on Kurdish rebels that killed 11 people.
In a show of backing for Kilicdaroglu, some 1,000 CHP supporters tried to march on the headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul.
However they were blocked by anti-riot police and as tensions grew some elements threw eggs at police, who then opened fire with rubber bullets, an AFP photographer said.
Several people were seen bending over in agony after being hit by the rubber bullets.
Kilicdaroglu has been accused in some quarters of failing to give enough support to the government's crackdown on Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants.
A group of mourners staged a protest against him at Wednesday's funeral, tearing up a wreath he had laid for the victims.
"The attack that happened yesterday was a black mark in the history of Turkish politics," party spokeswoman Selin Sayek Boke told reporters, saying the AKP had "drowned Turkey in blood" during its 14 years in power.
Source: Agence France Presse
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