Riot police fire gas, block Women's Day march in Istanbul

Riot police set up barricades and fired pepper gas to block demonstrators from joining an International Women’s Day march in central Istanbul on Tuesday. At least 38 women were detained, media reports said.

As in previous years, authorities declared the city’s main square, Taksim, and surrounding areas off-limits for demonstrations. Riot police then put up metal barricades around Taksim and on side streets leading to the square as well as to a nearby pedestrian thoroughfare.