Turkey’s Protests Continue: At Least 2 Dead

Local Editor

At least two protesters have been killed in Turkey protesters' clashes with policemen continued into the early hours of Tuesday.

A 22-year-old man died in a hospital after being shot during anti-government protests in southern Turkey, the NTV television reported Tuesday.
"Abdullah Comert was seriously wounded... after gunfire from an unidentified person," the station reported, quoting a statement from the local governor's office in the Hatay province.

He died in hospital on Monday, the private station added.

With the latest casualty, the death toll rose to at least two in what has become a wave of protests against the Justice and Development Party [AKP] government in cities across the country.
Hasan Akgol, a main opposition party lawmaker, said Comert was a member of the youth branch of the Republican People's Party [CHP], NTV reported.
"Police had launched an investigation into the incident," it added.

There were no immediate reports of guns being fired by either police or demonstrators but anti-government activists claimed he was shot in the head by the police during the protests.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing down some of the fiercest protests in his decade-long rule.

His critics denounce what they say is his authoritarian approach to government, accusing him of trying to impose conservative reforms on Turkey.
The unrest, which began on Friday after police cracked down on a demonstration in Istanbul, quickly blew up into anti-government protests across the country.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Doctors' Union said on Monday that a 20-year-old man was killed after a taxi drove into a group of protesters in the Mayis district of Istanbul.
On Monday, the Turkish protesters took to the streets in major cities, including the capital, Ankara, and Istanbul, for the fourth day, calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team