Clashes rage in Istanbul’s Besiktas

Turkish protesters have clashed with police in Istanbul overnight, in some of the worst violence since unrest erupted three days ago.

Protesters in Besiktas district tore up paving stones to build barricades, and police responded with tear gas and water cannon, according to BBC.

The violence was sparked by plans to build on a city park but have broadened into nationwide anti-government unrest.

Protesters say the Turkish government is becoming increasingly authoritarian.

They fear Prime Minister RecepTayyipErdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) is trying to impose conservative values on the officially secular country and infringe on their personal freedoms, correspondents say.

Officials say more than 1,700 people have been arrested in demonstrations in 67 towns and cities, though many have since been released.

Mosques, shops and a university in Besiktas were turned into makeshift hospitals for those injured in Sunday night’s demonstration.

The BBC’s Louise Greenwood in Istanbul says several thousand people took part in the protest outside the recently decommissioned Besiktas football stadium.

She says some of the protesters were coughing violently and vomiting after police fired gas canisters into the crowd.

The protests began on a small scale last week over redevelopment plans for the park to make way for the rebuilding of an Ottoman-era barracks, reportedly to house a shopping Centre.

The demonstrators say the park is one of the few green spaces in Istanbul, and object to the loss of public space for commercial purposes.

M.D