Turkish protesters turn Istanbul mosque into makeshift hospital

ISTANBUL – Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

Protesters used a mosque in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district near the prime minister’s office as a makeshift hospital following attacks by police early in the hours of June 3.

Nearly 100 people injured in the clashes sought sanctuary in the Bezmi Alem Valide Sultan Mosque, where a group of volunteer doctors treated them.

Police, however, fired gas bombs into the mosque’s garden.

Officers continued their heavy-handed intervention this morning as protesters demonstrated outside the prime minister’s office in Beşiktaş.

A group of protesters unfurled a Turkish flag on a water cannon, known as a “Mass Incident Intervention Vehicle” (TOMA) in Turkish, and reportedly threw stones at the office. Police then used gas bombs to disperse the group.

Speaking before a flight to North Africa, Erdoğan condemned the protesters for stoning his office. “Our office in Istanbul was stoned; the ones doing it are known. Some say the police must withdraw. Shall our police not protect the prime minister’s office? Shall they let the protesters invade the office? We will not let people involved in terrorist activities [attack] public buildings,” he said.