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Police crackdown in Turkey

Turkish police have launched a crackdown on anti-government protesters in Istanbul after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned the demonstrators to evacuate in a speech at a rally in the capital Ankara.

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Turkish police use tear gas to disperse protesters

Protesters set fire to a barricade as they clash with riot police in Istanbul. Credit: REUTERS/Cevahir Bugu

Police used tear gas to disperse protesters in Istanbul early this morning, hours after a protest camp was cleared from a park in the Turkish city.

Police in riot gear walk through a cloud of tear gas in Istanbul's Gezi Park. Credit: ABACA/ABACA/Press Association Images

Police in riot gear also dismantled barricades which had been put up, including one on a street leading to Taksim Square - which has been at the heart of the recent unrest.

Riot police fire tear gas and a water cannon at Taksim Square in Istanbul. Credit: REUTERS/Osman Orsal

A hotel was hit by tear-gas canisters during the police operation, forcing guests and protesters sheltering inside the hotel to rush out into the street, the Associated Press reported.

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