TURKEY COUP FEARS: Social media blocked and protesters attacked amid new uprising concerns
PRESIDENT ERDOGAN's government has clamped down again on Turkey's citizens, arresting separatist protesters and shutting down social media.
Social media went down amidst the unrest
Pro-Kurdish politicians were arrested and the internet shutdown for swathes of the population in the fresh crackdown on freedom.
Twelve MPs from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) along with six other members were arrested in the middle of the night as President Erdogan's government began another attempt to stamp out dissidents.
But the arrests sparked protests in Ankara with HDP politicians dubbing the actions a "coup".
Internet connection was shutdown yesterday in what appeared to be an intentional blackout and continued to be sporadic for several hours.
The latest unrest comes after an attempted coup in July which saw the Turkish parliament in Ankara bombed, and police and military buildings attacked.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım warned that protestors would be brought to justice, saying: "Those who come with elections go with elections, but they should pay the price if they engage in terror.
President Recep Erdogan has tried to stamp out dissidents
"Politics cannot be a shield for committing a crime. Turkey is a state of law."
He added that the internet blackout had been carried out in the interests of security and would return.
Social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are regularly blocked by Turkish authorities but the latest clampdown saw messaging application Whatsapp and Instagram also shutdown.
Turkey has been in a state of emergency since July
Pro-Kurdish separatists have been targetted in the clapdown
Turkey has been in a permanent state of emergency since July's failed coup and tens of thousands of public servants have been brought in for questioning and detained. Earlier this week several journalists on a leading newspaper which is critical of the government were also arrested.
US State Department spokesman John Kirby said: "The United States is deeply concerned by the Turkish government's detentions of opposition members of parliament ... and by government restrictions on internet actions today."
Several journalists have also been arrested
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said Turkey needs "to make every effort to uphold fundamental rights and universal principles", including "the freedom of expression, representation, independence of the judiciary, right to fair trial and strict adherence to due process, in line with Turkey's international obligations".
The fresh unrest came as Turkey threatened to open its borders to migrants if its citizens are not granted free movement within the EU which Brussels has so far resisted because of Turkey's human rights record.