ERDOGAN COMPARES RALLYING TURKISH STUDENTS TO TERRORISTS

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday threatened to crack down on the month-long protests against his appointment of a new rector at a top Istanbul university, calling rallying students "members of terrorist groups," Ergin Hava reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

"Just as we have sent terrorists to their graves ... we will continue to do the same everywhere else," Erdogan said, referring to military operations against pro-Kurdish insurgents in the country's south-east.

"Never again will this country go through [another] Gezi incident," Erdogan charged, drawing an analogy to the 2013 mass protests against his plans for a redevelopment project in Istanbul's Gezi Park.

Then-prime minister Erdogan's government clamped down hard on Gezi protesters across the country while several were killed during clashes.

Erdogan's remarks follow mass detentions and clashes between police and protesters in Istanbul and Ankara on Tuesday when police fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of peaceful demonstrators.

Istanbul's Governor's Office said 29 people were still being held while 65 had been released after Tuesday's protests.

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