Watch: Pro-Palestinian crowds try to storm air base housing US troops in Turkey

Reuters

Adana, Turkey, November 6

Turkish police used teargas and water cannon as hundreds of people at a pro-Palestinian rally on Sunday tried to storm an airbase that houses US troops, hours before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due in Ankara for talks on Gaza.

Turkey, which has stepped up its criticism of Israel as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened, supports a two-state solution while hosting members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Since the Israel-Hamas war started, protests have erupted across the country.

Earlier this week, the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, an Islamist Turkish aid agency, organised a convoy to travel to the Incirlik air base in the Adana province in southern Turkey to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza and US support for Israel.

🚨 JUST IN: Turkish Police Disperse Pro-Palestinian Protesters Near İncirlik Air Base Which Houses U.S. Troops pic.twitter.com/TsAjfbTz6G

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) November 5, 2023

Incirlik, which has been used to support the international coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, also houses US troops. IHH's protest called for Incirlik to be closed.

Footage from the protests showed police firing teargas and using water cannons to disperse crowds waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting slogans. Protesters toppled barricades and clashed with police in riot gear.

Protesters were also seen hurling plastic chairs, rocks, and other items at police, who fired smoke bombs at crowds. Scuffles broke out between the crowds and security forces. IHH President Bulent Yildirim addressed crowds in Adana and urged them to refrain from attacking police.

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