Police Use Water Cannon and Tear Gas Against School Boycott in Izmir

A school boycott against a recent government education policy that called for compulsory religion classes began on Friday across Turkey, according to reports. The boycott, launched by the teachers’ union Eğitim-Sen and a number of Alevi groups, led to clashes with police in some places. In Izmir, police were reported to have deployed tear gas and water cannon.

Reports from a Twitter account sympathetic to the protesters said that five water cannons and “at least 600 riot police” were present in Izmir, while another account said 40 people were detained. These videos show the scenes in Izmir. Credit: Facebook/Kazim Kizil