The Washington Post reports:
A Turkish state news agency said guards for visiting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were involved in a violent clash with demonstrators in Northwest Washington on Tuesday in an incident that D.C. officials said left nine people injured.
Turkey’s semiofficial Anadolu news agency and similar accounts by pro-government outlets confirmed what many on social media had speculated after seeing videos of men in dark suits and ties — some holding Turkish flags — going after demonstrators outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence at Sheridan Circle on Massachusetts Avenue. The Turkish news agency blamed the incident on an “inadequate” response by local police.
Not terribly surprising when you remember that Yusuf Yerkel, a former PhD student at SOAS University and an adviser to Erdogan, was photographed in the wake of the 2014 Soma mine disaster kicking an anti-government protester while two policemen held him down.
Update: The New York Times reports:
New video surfaced on Thursday that shows President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey looking on as his supporters, including members of his security team, violently charge a group of protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence.
Amerika’nın Sesi Özel: #Erdoğan #Washington'daki olayların bitmesini aracında bekledi https://t.co/96IJVdVOpQ #amerikaninsesi pic.twitter.com/nh7nsyXwzL
— Amerika'nın Sesi (@VOATurkish) May 18, 2017
