2.5m people partook in anti-government protests across Turkey

About 2.5 million protesters have taken to the streets across Turkey since the unrest initially erupted on May 31 over government plans to redevelop Gezi Park in Istanbul's Taksim Square, daily Milliyet reported Sunday. Only in two cities, Bayburt and Bingol, people did not attend the protests; while 79 cities witnessed mass demonstrations, with the majority in Istanbul and the capital Ankara, the report quoted the Interior Ministry's record as saying. At least five people were killed during the protests, as some 4, 000 were injured, including some 600 policemen, and about 4,900 protesters detained. Civil disobedience protests occurred after the violent clashes faded away, said the report. A total of 58 public buildings and 337 private businesses were damaged, while 240 police vehicles, 214 private cars, 90 municipality buses and 45 ambulances were left in bad conditions, the report said, adding that the total damages were estimated at over 70 million U.S. dollars. The protests began as a peaceful sit-in, but soon snowballed into nationwide anti-government movement due to harsh police crackdowns.