Turkish police fire teargas at pro-Palestine protesters near US airbase

Turkish police used teargas and water cannon after hundreds of people protested on Sunday outside a southern Turkey airbase that houses US troops.

The protest was led by the IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, a Turkish aid agency, which organised a convoy to travel to the Incirlik airbase in Adana province to protest against the Israeli bombardment of Gaza and US support for Israel.

It came just hours before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was due in Ankara for talks on the Israel-Palestine war.

turkey protesters palestine gaza — Pro-Palestinian demonstrators take part in a protest against the US and Israel near the Incirlik airbase in the city of Adana, southern Turkey, on 5 November 2023 (Reuters)

Footage shared online showed protesters toppling barricades and throwing plastic chairs and rocks at police, who fired smoke bombs at crowds. The demonstrators waved Turkish and Palestinian flags.

IHH president Bulent Yildirim addressed the crowds in Adana, urging them not to attack police.

"Friends, it is wrong to throw rocks or do similar things because both the police and soldiers would want to go to Gaza and fight and they will go when the time comes," Yildirim said.

"Our rage is huge. We cannot hold it in. But Turkey is doing what it can," he added.

The aid agency ended its rally early due to the confrontations with police.