Demonstrators clash with Turkish riot police during a protest against Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AK Party in central Ankara on June 2, 2013. PHOTO: REUTERS
White fumes filled the air as riot cops fired gas and lashed stone-throwing protestors with water-cannons in the two cities, the latest in a string of nationwide clashes that have left scores injured.
"Dictator, resign!" yelled the crowds in Ankara. "We will resist until we win".
Police had withdrawn on Saturday from Istanbul's main Taksim Square, the symbolic heart of demonstrations that started over an unpopular building project nearby and boiled over into a general protest against the government.
Crowds of whistling, flag-waving protestors continued to cover Taksim Square but the flashpoint shifted late Sunday to Erdogan's nearby Istanbul base, where AFP reporters saw police disperse thousands of demonstrators.
Interior Minister Muammer Guler said earlier that more than 1,700 people had been arrested in the unrest nationwide, though most have since been released.
Witnesses in Ankara said they had seen cops beat protestors with batons. AFP photographers saw protestors carrying away at least one wounded person.
A wave of protests has spread across the country in the biggest public outcry against Erdogan's government since it took power in 2002.
Rights groups have complained about what Amnesty International called a "disgraceful" heavy-handed response by police to the demonstrations while Turkey's Western allies appealed for restraint.
The unrest began as a local outcry against plans to redevelop Gezi Park near Taksim, but after a heavy-handed police response it quickly snowballed into broader protests against what critics say is the government's increasingly conservative and authoritarian agenda.
Erdogan on Sunday renewed his calls for an end to the disturbances.
"If you love this country, if you love Istanbul, do not fall for these games," he said in televised comments.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned in a Twitter message: "The continuation of these protests... will bring no benefits but will harm the reputation of our country which is admired both in the region and the world."
Guler said 58 civilians and 115 security officers had been injured over several days of recent protests, although rights groups have put the number of injured in the hundreds.
Authorities say almost 100 police vehicles, 94 shops and dozens of cars have been damaged.
Guler estimated the cost at more than 20 million liras ($10 million).
The prime minister had insisted on Saturday that his government would press ahead with the park redevelopment, although he said it may not include a shopping mall, as protesters fear.
He also admitted "some mistakes" in the police response.
Eylem Yildirim, a 36-year-old housewife and protester in Taksim, said she expected the crowds to die down after the weekend but said the people had made their point and the government knew they were "bitter and at the limits of their patience".
'Disgraceful' police response
Amnesty International said some protesters had been left blinded by the massive quantities of tear gas and pepper spray used by police.
Amnesty's Europe director John Dalhuisen said police excesses had become routine in Turkey "but the excessively heavy-handed response to the entirely peaceful protests in Taksim has been truly disgraceful."
Human Rights Watch said the number of injured was higher than official figures suggested and that one protester had lost an eye after police shot him with a plastic bullet.
Turkey's Nato allies Britain, France and the United States have all urged the Erdogan government to exercise restraint.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Paris was calling for "a peaceful solution" but he rejected comparisons with the Arab Spring uprisings as Turkey's government was "democratically elected".
The protests also come after a controversial new law introduced by Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to restrict the sale and advertising of alcohol. That has sparked complaints that the government is trying to impose an Islamic agenda.
Erdogan's populist government is often accused of trying to make the predominantly Muslim but staunchly secular country more conservative.
"It's not about the Gezi Park project anymore. It has become a movement against the government which is interfering more and more in our private life," said Hamdi, a protestor in Ankara who would not give his family name.
The government has also been criticised for its crackdown on opponents including Kurds, journalists and the military establishment.
"They call me a dictator," Erdogan said in a speech on Sunday. "If they liken a humble servant to a dictator, then I am at a loss for words."
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