Turkey Today: Protesters Defy Police Crackdown as Demonstrations Spread Beyond Istanbul

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Clashes between protesters and police continue tonight after Turkish security forces, using water cannon and tear gas, tried to disperse peaceful demonstrators in Istanbul's Takism Square.

At least 60 people were detained on Friday after police moved on a rally of several thousand people which began over the demolition of a park, but which turned into a broader protest against what the Erdogan Government.

More than 100 people were injured, some left lying on the ground unconscious and at least two hospitalised with injuries to the head.

Istanbul Government Huseyin Avni Mutlu said the most seriously injured person ---  a Turkish national of Palestinian origin---  had to undergo brain surgery after fractures to her skull, but was doing well in intensive care. He said in televised remarks that an investigation was underway and people had been detained for "provoking violence".

Demonstrators had occupied the Gezi park since Tuesday to prevent bulldozers from completing the demolition forf the Government's redevelopment plan with a replica Ottoman-era military barracks housing a shopping mall.

Later on Friday, an Istanbul court ordered the temporary suspension of the project to uproot the trees.

Protest spread to the capital Ankara, where about 5,000 people gathered in a park and police fired tear gas to disperse crowds trying to reach the headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party.

The rallies also spread to two locations in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir.

Gezi Park protestors held a large poster with a caricature depicting Erdogan as an Ottoman sultan with a caption that read: "The people won't yield to you."

Erdogan has dismissed the protesters' demands for the park's protection, saying the government would go ahead with renovation plans "no matter what they do".