Teargas v stones, bottles: Hundreds of protesters clash with Turkish police near Syrian border (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

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Large doses of teargas, paintballs, and water cannon were fired as protesters clashed with police in the Turkish-Syrian border town of Reyhanli. The mass demonstration comes a week after twin car bomb explosions a week ago, which killed 46 people.
Protesters waved red banners, and lobbed stones and bottles at the officers as the intensity of Saturday’s clashes escalated.

Riot police made attempts to disperse the crowds, marching in solidarity with the victims of last week’s attacks.


Police prevented the protesters from reaching the center of the town, where the bombs exploded by the city hall and post office.

Pockets of the marchers also clamored for a change of government as many people in the town are angry at the government's response to the attack.  

• They also blame Turkish authorities for decision to take in Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict in their country, saying it has made them a target for attacks.

Barriers were broken down, with some detained, and others suffering injuries, according to a local tweet.

Riot police use gas bomb against on May 18, 2013, at Reyhanli in Hatay during the funerals of the victims of a car bomb which went off on May 11 at Reyhanli in Hatay just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria (AFP Photo / STR)

The parade began with more than 1,000 participants. Local reports stated that the count could have even stood at over 10,000. However, it quickly fragmented, with the number of attendees dwindling to the hundreds. The clashes calmed down after approximately an hour.
Last Saturday's fatal car bombs in Hatay province on the Turkey-Syria border also injured a further 100 when they exploded outside a community hall and a post office in the center of town of Reyhanli. A third, unconnected explosion - likely an accident - also took place in a building containing some Syrian refugees.
Residents of the town harbored frustration at the government’s immediate response, also saying that the country shouldn’t be accommodating refugees from Syria.
Turkey had been quick to blame Syria for the devastating attacks, with Ankara warning it would take
“all retaliatory measures necessary,” raising the prospect of an escalation in the conflict.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan came in for criticism for traveling to the United States this week, instead of visiting the town to display support in the wake of its tragedy.
Immediately following the blasts, approximately 100 of the city’s residents took to the streets outside Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, calling for Erdogan’s resignation and accusing him of a failed policy towards Syria which they believe led to the assault.
.rt.com 
18/5/13
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Related:

• Deadly blasts hit Turkish town near Syria .... At least 18 people killed and 22 wounded after series of car bombs in Reyhanli in southern province of Hatay.

 

Riot policemen face protestors on May 18, 2013, at Reyhanli in Hatay during the funerals of the victims of a car bomb which went off on May 11 at Reyhanli in Hatay just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria (AFP Photo / STR)