Turkey's Islamist-rooted government faced growing pressure today after angry demonstrators clashed for a third night with police in a nationwide wave of protests.
Police fired tear gas and water cannon yesterday at protesters who marched on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's offices in Istanbul and Ankara.
"Dictator, resign!... We will resist until we win," yelled the crowds, in the latest of a string of protests that have by some accounts left hundreds injured.
Police had withdrawn on Saturday from Istanbul's main Taksim Square, the symbolic heart of demonstrations that started over an unpopular building project nearby and boiled over into a general protest against the government.
Crowds of whistling, flag-waving protestors continued to cover Taksim Square but the flashpoint shifted late yesterday to the area near Erdogan's nearby Istanbul base.
AFP reporters there saw police disperse thousands of demonstrators and incidents continued into early today.
Interior Minister Muammer Guler said earlier that more than 1,700 people had been arrested in the unrest nationwide, though most have since been released.
He said 58 civilians and 115 security officers had been injured over several days of protests, although rights groups have put the number of injured higher.
A doctors' union in Ankara said more than 400 civilians had been injured there including some with serious head wounds.
Rights groups have complained about what Amnesty International described as a "disgraceful" heavy-handed response by police to the demonstrations.
Turkey's Western allies have appealed for restraint.
The unrest began as a local outcry against plans to redevelop Gezi Park, a rare green spot near Taksim, but after a heavy-handed police response it quickly snowballed.
Accused by critics of pushing an increasingly conservative and authoritarian agenda, Erdogan's government is facing the biggest protests since it took power in 2002.
Erdogan yesterday renewed his call for an end to the disturbances.
"If you love this country, if you love Istanbul, do not fall for these games," he said in televised comments.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned in a Twitter message: "The continuation of these protests... Will bring no benefits but will harm the reputation of our country which is admired both in the region and the world."
Guler estimated the cost at more than 20 million liras (USD 10 million).
The prime minister had insisted today that his government would press ahead with the park redevelopment, although he said it may not include a shopping mall, as protesters fear.
