Election over, homes razed

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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The demolition squads were accompanied by municipal security officers and police officers. The early arrival of Ümraniye Municipality’s demolition squads failed to prevent locals from barricading the streets to prevent the squads and the police from entering their neighborhood.

Locals threw rocks and attacked the police with sticks during the clashes in the morning, with police tanks used to disperse the crowds. The police later removed anyone who was blocking the demolitions from the neighborhood before the process started. The police also kept an ambulance waiting in case further trouble erupted.

Several children protested the demolitions after it was completed and the police left, reported Anatolia news agency. The demolitions were launched after the municipality was informed that people had added floors to their houses in the neighborhood largely dominated by shanty houses just before the March 29 local elections, hoping the municipalities would not act after the vote.