Thousands Protest in Istanbul Following Ankara Attack
Source: Agence France Presse
ISTANBUL (AFP) - Thousands of people on Saturday marched down Istanbul's main central avenue to protest the twin suspected suicide bombing in the Turkish capital Ankara that killed at least 86 people.
The estimated crowd of 10,000 filled Istiklal Street in central Istanbul, with police maintaining a heavy presence but not intervening, an AFP photographer said.
Some carried placards reading "the state is a killer" and "we know the murderers", echoing allegations of state responsibility made in the aftermath of the attack but denied by the government.
Protests were also taking place in several other Turkish cities including Izmir on the Aegean and southeastern cities such as Batman and Diyarbakir, the Dogan news agency reported.
A protest earlier in Diyarbakir had ended with police using tear gas to disperse protesters.
Read more: http://www.straitstimes.com/world/middle-east/thousands-protest-in-istanbul-after-ankara-attack
Some carried placards reading "the state is a killer" and "we know the murderers", echoing allegations of state responsibility made in the aftermath of the attack but denied by the government."
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Comrade Grumpy
(13,184 posts)Added the link to a version of the AFP story.
Cheese Sandwich
(9,086 posts)Ankara bombing: At least 95 killed, scores injured in blasts outside train station in Turkey's capital
Updated 55 minutes ago
At least 95 people have been killed in twin explosions in Turkey's capital Ankara, targeting activists gathering for a peace rally organised by leftist and pro-Kurdish opposition groups.
It is understood 246 people are still being treated for injuries with 48 of them in intensive care, the prime minister's office said.
Bodies of those who died at the scene were covered by flags and banners, including those of the pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), with bloodstains and body parts scattered on the road.
The area was to have hosted a peace rally organised by leftist groups later in the day, including the HDP, calling for an end to the fighting between Kurdish separatists and the Turkish government.
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