22-year-old man killed in Turkey protests: report

22-year-old man killed in Turkey protests: report

A 22-year-old man died in hospital after being shot during anti-government protests in southern Turkey, NTV television reported.

Demonstrators raise a Turkish flag in Istanbul on June 4, 2013. A 22-year-old man died in hospital after being shot during anti-government protests in southern Turkey, NTV television reported.

"Abdullah Comert was seriously wounded... after gunfire from an unidentified person," the station reported, quoting a statement from the local governor's office in the Hatay province.

He died in hospital on Monday, the private station added.

With the latest casualty, the death toll rose to at least two in what has become a wave of protests against the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government in cities across the country.

Hasan Akgol, a main opposition party lawmaker, said Comert was a member of the youth branch of the Republican People's Party (CHP), NTV reported.

Police had launched an investigation into the incident, it added.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing down some of the fiercest protests in his decade-long rule.

His critics denounce what they say is his authoritarian approach to government, accusing him of trying to impose conservative Islamic reforms on secular Turkey.

The unrest, which began on Friday after police cracked down on a demonstration in Istanbul, quickly blew up into anti-government protests across the country.

Do you like the content of this article?
COMMENT